Placing 11th out of the 75 competing teams, the varsity cheer team competed in the 6A-D2 UIL Spirit State Championships this past Jan. 18. The team will also be continuing their competition season at the National Cheerleaders Association competition this weekend.
“[In the beginning], it was a lot because both football season and competition season overlapped,” senior cheer captain Ellie Bergquist said. “I’m so glad we got to cheer for football all the way to state, but it definitely was a lot, because we would be practicing for so many hours a day, doing both sideline stuff and competition stuff. So there definitely has not been a break, but it’s my last year, and so I’m definitely just making the most of it”
The team “hit zero” during the competition, meaning they had zero deduction points taken off and executed their routine without mistakes or missed stunts. Their final score came to a total of 80.87 points.
“My goal is to put my best out on the mat no matter what,” junior Allie Kozmetsky said. “I know if I try my hardest, people around me will too. So if we all try our hardest, we will do pretty well.”
Part of the preparation for the competition included daily after-school practices where cheerleaders would train their stamina, run through their preliminary and final routines, and break into small groups to polish stunts. The team also performed their routine at a public showcase on Jan. 16.
“[The public performance definitely gave us an adrenaline rush,” Kozmetsky said. “I feel like I definitely tried a lot harder in front of everyone else. I just think it was really good to be able to be in that atmosphere, because that’s how it’s gonna be like at competition. I feel like that was a good setup for some of the girls that haven’t done all-star [or]competed before.”
Throughout this season in specific, the varsity cheer team experienced major changes. One of the biggest adjustments team members adapted to was a change in coaching and leadership, with coach Katie Maurer taking on the head coach position, previously held by Brianna Roughton.
“Our old coach was the head coach for 11 years, so she had a structure,” Bergquist said. “For sure, our new head coach is really good at what she does. She’s super organized, and even though it’s her first year coaching ever, she’s been good. It definitely has been different, but overall, it’s been good. We’ve tried to keep certain traditions alive, and she’s definitely been good at honoring that.”
This year, the team was composed of all girls, as opposed to the co-ed teams varsity cheer has had in the past, composed of both girls and boys.
“Honestly, I really love the all-girls team,” junior Kendall Miltonberger said. “Of course, the boys were so fun, and it was great getting to teach football players what we do, but it’s given an opportunity for girls on JV to be on the mat, which I do love. And I think it has bonded us as a program to be all together all the time.”
Although the team underwent other additions and reforms to the program, including working with a new choreographer and working with a particularly small group of seniors, these experiences allowed opportunities to bond as a team.
“I think it’s easy when you’re a leader, to just be so focused on doing the right things, and checking the boxes,” Bergquist said. “You kind of have a lot of pressure as a captain, but I think that I’ve learned through that, that it’s also important to make those bonds with the people around you. You never know what impact you can have on them. At the end of the day, it’s those relationships that are more important than a gold medal.”
