The Elmira high school cheer team is working hard to prepare for competitions this season.
This year’s team consists of 12 girls: senior Alexis Keeney, juniors Abby Taubr and Annalyse Gilliam, and sophomores Teardyn Bell, Shavelle Cook, Elleana Galaviz, Johanna Larsen, Parker Lusk, Emiree Marhenke, Kadence Marvin, Aubree Rogers and Kylee Young-Villa.
The team is led by cheer captains Keeney and Cook, and is coached by Mandy Storey and Rebecca Dube, with assistant coach Bailey Wilkinson.
Storey is proud of the team and the season they have had.
“It has been a great season so far,” Storey told Falcon News. “These cheerleaders have stepped up their game and are taking this year more seriously.”
The whole team has been very positive about the season.
“It’s actually going really well,” Cook said. “We’re closer as a team than we were last year.”
Her fellow captain agreed.
“The season is going pretty good,” Keeney said. “It’s just harder now since we’re going into competitions.”
This season the team primarily cheered at home football games, traveling to one away game at Harrisburg.
For the winter sports season, the team will be cheering at basketball games.
“We will be cheering for as many Varsity home games as we can,” Storey said. “However, we are also preparing for competitions and that is our priority.”
Storey hopes that the student section will be there cheering on the basketball teams when the cheerleaders are unable to due to competitions or practice.
After being in conversation for a couple of years, the team will do competitions this season.
The cheerleaders were able to connect with an Oregon Cheerleading Coaches Association coach and choreographer at a cheerleading camp they attended during the summer.
“We brought her in to teach a 2 day clinic on stunting and another 2 day intensive session to learn a competition routine,” Storey said.
The team captains are feeling a lot of emotions now that they are finally going into competitions.
“[I’m] feeling like, really nervous,” Keeney told Falcon News, “but I know we’re gonna get it.”
“I’m really excited to do it and that I think we’re gonna do great,” Cook said.
The rest of the team also have no doubt in the team’s ability to perform well at competitions this coming year.
“The season is definitely harder than last year now that we are heading into competitions,” Galaviz said. “[But] everyone is getting along with each other and happy to be on the Elmira cheer team.”
The cheerleaders are continuing to work hard to ensure a great performance when competitions come.
“We are all working very hard to nail down our routine both at practice and at home,” Larsen told Falcon News.
The first competition will be Jan. 4 at the Springfield Invitational at Springfield High School.
They will have one more in January before going on to have two more in February.
