The varsity cheerleading team has had plenty to cheer about early this season.
The team pulled out a win at its first competition of the year Saturday at Linden High School, despite a bit of adversity.
During Lake Fenton’s round three routine, senior cheerleader Alyssa Martin started to feel nauseous and needed to leave the mat in the middle of the performance. The team was allowed to finish the sequence after she felt better, however, and posted a solid score of 259 for the round. The cause of the sickness was suspected to be dehydration.
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Lake Fenton still won the event with 641 points at and outscored second place Vassar by nearly 100 points.
Lake Fenton coach Ashlee Latimer said the squad needs to consistently be in the 700 point range to have a chance at making it to the state finals.
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“I’m happy with the win, but we have a lot of work to do," she said.
There were seven teams at the event at Linden High School, but Montrose and Vassar were the only schools in Lake Fenton's division. Even the school’s mascot was in attendance Saturday to cheer on the cheer team.
Latimer said it was a good starting point for the team, but they have their eyes set on winning districts and qualifying for regionals.
The way competitive cheer works is as follows. Each school participates in three separate rounds and each round has its own specific requirements and style. Judges base scores on dozens of different factors including difficulty, skill and overall performance.
Senior Lindsae Zielinski said her favorite part of cheering is simple.
“The adrenaline rush and being in front of the crowd," she said.
Zielinski is also working hard to become a better cheerleader.
“My main goals right now is to improve all of my skills so I’m ready for college cheering at Utah State," she said.
The entire squad needs to raise the bar a bit, said assistant coach Maryalice Barry.
However, Barry added as intense as competitive cheer can be, sometimes it’s not all about winning.
Barry said her favorite part of coaching is “watching the girl’s progress in their skills and their character."
Lake Fenton is no stranger to performing at a high level with their competitive cheer teams. They have made it to the state meet more than 20 times, won three state titles and earned runner-up honors twice.
The next competition will be held at 2:30 p.m. Saturday at Davison High School.
Lake Fenton is also trying to make a difference off the court by raising awareness this season by wearing different colored ribbons in their hair at each competition. This week the team displayed a lime green ribbon in support of non-hodgkin's lymphoma.
"One of our girls has a father sick with this terrible disease and so it inspired us to do something to help bring awareness," Latimer said.
