From cheering under the stadium lights with football fans in the stands to inside the gym getting the student section hyped for the varsity basketball teams, winter cheer has come a long way this season. Most notably, the Phoenix cheer program has a fall cheer team that dominates the track, with their spirit continuing on in the form of a winter sideline team. As they spent the season supporting the varsity girls and boys teams, the cheerleaders learned a lot throughout the course of the season.

Although winter cheer doesn’t perform the same stunts as the fall cheer team, the cheerleaders work just as hard in getting their cheers to be as sharp as possible. “My favorite cheers are the stomp and shake ones because those are the ones we used to do at my old school,”’ junior Aniya Walker said.

A constant throughout both cheer seasons, senior captain Reagan Carper chose to further her commitment in cheerleading at Virginia State University, and she expressed her gratitude to the people that helped her along the way. “I thank god, my family, and friends who have supported me through this journey, as well as my cheer coaches whom I have been with for the four years,” Carper said. “They really are the best people I have gotten to know here at school.” She plans on not only cheering but also minoring in dance.

Many of the cheerleaders are looking forward to having a blast during next year’s fall cheer as they use this winter cheer to sharpen their skills. With jumps, cheers, and stunts, they prepare to come back from summer break ready to get out there to hype up the Phoenix pit with their new tricks.

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Rodrigue Gomado

“I’m really excited for college, as I will be cheering at VSU (Virginia State University) and just can’t wait to open that chapter of my life” senior Reagan Carper said.