By Emily Wilson

Assistant Editor

Junior varsity cheerleaders talk about this year’s competition season. The team placed second at state after taking a two-year break from competition to travel.

What was the hardest part of competing?

Gabby Findley: The hardest part of competing was probably trying to keep my nerves calm before stepping on the mat.

Izzy Roberts: The hardest part of competing was getting over my nerves. I knew that there wasn’t room for any mistakes, so I was overthinking a lot.

Delaney Teevan: I would say the hardest thing about competing was just the nerves you get and just learning how to keep them under control.

What was different than you were expecting about competing?

GF: Nothing was unexpected because I have competed on a mat before.

IR: I expected there to be a lot of pressure on the performance since it was the biggest competition of the season, but it actually ended up being way more fun than that.

DT: I’ve completed on a competition level before. The high school level just has a different dynamic to it, but I really enjoyed it.

Do you prefer traveling or competing and why?

GF: I prefer competing because as a team we get close like a family and I love competing.

IR: I definitely prefer traveling. Personally, competing just brings more stress than anything, but when we travel, I have the best time with my friends and make great memories that I’ll never forget. Not that I have anything against competing though.

DT: I’m just a very competitive person I’ve always completed in cheer my whole life, so I love being able to compete at the high school level.

What do you look forward to most about next year?

GF: I’m looking forward to working hard for a state title since it’s going to be my senior year.

IR: Next year I’m looking forward to seeing the progress that we make as a team. It was our first year back competing so there were a lot of bumps in the road, but I see a lot of potential and I can’t wait to see us all improve as athletes and as a team.

DT: What I’m most excited for next year is just pushing myself and others a little more than we pushed this year and hopefully doing amazing next year as well.

What was your favorite memory of the season thus far?

GF: My favorite memory is of one of my teammates, Myauna, when she wears high heels randomly at practice.

IR: My favorite memory from this season was when we got 2nd at Regionals. Nobody on our team was expecting to place very high, so the bus ride back home from that competition was a lot of fun and the whole energy of the team changed that night.

DT: My fav memory would have to to be our fan show cases we had because it was the first time we really preform as a team and helped us fix things that we need to fix and brought us closer.