The Bison Competitive Cheerleading Team competed at the National High School Cheerleading Championship in Orlando, Florida from February 8-12.
Near the beginning of the season, the Cheer Team was just shy of getting a bid to Nationals at the Regional competition. The team decided to try their shot at it again at a competition in Iowa. When they went to Iowa, they had their best performance yet. Finishing the meet off with a first place in their division and their own bid to Nationals.
“It took a lot of hard work and even more dedication than we already had. It also took quite a lot of money. We had to go to compete at regionals twice to get the bid to be able to go to nationals. The second time we went, we had to go to Iowa,” said Freshman Maddie Kramber.
Only a few weeks earlier at the State competition, they had placed for the first time in Bison Competition Cheerleaders history. There they earned a third place finish.
“We got to see the best of the best teams in the country. I have watched videos of these teams on my computer so it was really cool to see them in person with a new routine. The most memorable thing for me was being at magical kingdom with everyone. Being a senior and having been on the same team with almost all the same girls, makes them seem like family to you! So being at the place where your dreams come true with them, was amazing,” said Senior Captain Kassidy Duffney.
They placed somewhere between 25th-50th out of hundreds of teams. Even though they are unsure of how well they placed they know that this was an opportunity of a lifetime. When heading to Nationals it was more than a competition for these girls. It was everything they had ever wished for.
“Personally, I have taken a lot from the experience. I got to meet a lot of new people, and being able to go with my team made it ten times better. Having competed at the biggest high school competition in the U.S. makes me feel a lot more confident about our team, and our ability to achieve our goals. And being able to be a part of that team makes me feel better about myself being able to achieve things that I want and work hard for,” said Kramber.
Cheer is a team made up of middle school and high school girls. Four girls were lucky enough to finish off their high school career at Nationals. Hopes are high for future National opportunities.
“I loved that I got to end it at nationals. I made precious memories with people that I will never forget! If I could do it all over again, I would,” said Duffney
