When someone thinks about Friday nights in the fall, typically, three things come to mind – football, marching band, and cheerleading (plus maybe some delicious concession stand food). This year, not only is the Warrior band made up of mostly underclassmen, but the varsity cheerleaders are too.
When the results were posted after tryouts in late March, the numbers showed that there would be eight experienced “veterans” on the team, with 12 freshmen and “first years” following them. In the recent months, all 20 girls have been hard at work.
“I’ve seen so much growth from the beginning of the season in April to now, and it’s insane,” said junior cheerleader, Emilia Minotti. “The new girls work extremely hard and I appreciate them so much for their hard work.”
All of the girls keep a good balance of productivity and having fun while at practice. They boost each other up when something is not going right, and work together to learn all sorts of different cheers, dances, and competition routines.
“I think the season is going really great so far, all of the new girls are learning so much material and we are doing really good with stunts this year and I’m really proud of everyone,” said junior Brynn Connelly.
Trying something new can be very scary for some people, but this team has been absolutely crushing it. Because of the complicated stunts they perform, like switch-ups, arabesques, bajas and pyramids, every girl on the team has to be on their A-game at all times.
Stunt-heavy practices can be very difficult physically and mentally, so it is quite impressive that a team of many younger and new girls has been so successful with these skills.
“We have been working on getting more solid stunts and everyone is working well together, which makes it a really fun environment,” said junior Paige Rosenbaum.
With so many first years on the team, a lot of bonding had to take place in order to eliminate all of the awkwardness of not really knowing each other yet.
Connelly threw a Sweet 16 in mid-August and decided it was the perfect opportunity to get to know the girls she would spend the rest of the season with.
“I invited them to my birthday party, and I talk to as many of the new/younger girls as I possibly can because I really like all of them,” she said.
“My favorite part of having a fresh team is that we all get along so well together. I’ve bonded with the little girls by always talking to them and cracking some jokes,” said Minotti.
Rosenbaum said she also enjoys spending time and making conversation with her “littles”. “We got to hang out during camp and team bonding activities.”
After leaving all of the tension of a new team in the past, the girls opened up and began having fun with each other at choreography camps, the Little League World Series Grand Slam Parade, and of course, the football games.
Rosenbaum and freshman Emerson Metzger, both relish in the intense energy a cheerleader gets to experience every week.
“My favorite part about Friday nights is the energy I receive from the band and student section,” said Metzger.
“My favorite part is screaming my head off when we get touchdowns and doing stunts,” said Rosenbaum. “I also love it when the football team, cheerleaders, and band sing/play the alma mater together at the end of games.”
Freshman cheerleader, Sophia Caputo, adores the elementary and middle school cheerleaders that she sees on Fridays, and it is one of her favorite parts of cheering on Fridays.
Despite the team’s young, new girls the elementary and junior high cheerleaders always have so much fun watching and seeing what their future could be.
“My favorite part about Friday nights is seeing the little girls in the stands doing the dances or cheers with us! They look up to us so much, and it’s so nice to see them supporting us,” said Caputo.
The totally electrifying environment is one thing, but the champion attitudes that the boys hold on the football field no matter how the game turns out is what keeps the band and cheerleaders going.
“Everyone comes together [for the alma mater] and just has a good time, win or lose,” said junior, Ashlynn Little.
Rosenbaum loves Warrior Rumble because it “hypes up the crowd,” and freshman Gianna Desanto agrees that it is her all time favorite cheer the Warrior cheerleaders do.
Despite the difficult balance required between school and such a demanding sport like cheerleading, these freshmen and new first-year girls on the team have been killing it.
“It’s only my first year on varsity and I already feel so fulfilled with how this season is going,” said Caputo.
“I’m living and breathing cheerleading, and through rough practices and bad days, we are all still a family and it’s so worth it in the end,” she said. “I’m truly blessed to have these girls as my teammates, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”
Featured photo (at top): The Warrior Cheerleaders complete pushups following a Montoursville touchdown. Emerson Metzger, Hailey Wool, Aubree Carey, and Storie Holtzman ran the MAHS flags around the mat. Photo by Mayor Steve Bagwell
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