Friday, March 29, 2024

GHS senior cheerleaders ‘pepped’ for final year

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As graduation looms on the horizon for the Granbury High School class of 2022, many seniors are experiencing a mix of emotions like excitement, sadness and apprehension.

But for some, their hearts are still bursting with spirit and Pirate pride.

The GHS varsity cheer team has 22 members, and six of them are seniors: Karlee Greene, Tryniti Barks, Alina Porter, Avery Thomas, Rylan DeRouen and mascot Abiah Wark.

INSPIRATION

Cheering has been a part of their lives for years — some since eighth grade — but for most, the initial draw to the sport took place when they were younger.

“This sounds so weird, but whenever I was little, I remember going to football games and watching all of the little cheerleaders jumping around and really bringing spirit,” Thomas said. “I just loved watching them cheer, and I was very inspired to be like a role model for all the little girls.”

For Greene, DeRouen and Wark, the inspiration is largely credited to their siblings.

“My brothers have played football,” Greene said. “They played Peewee, and so when I would go to a few of their games I would see cheerleaders and I'd want to cheer.”

“My brothers have been in football since I was in preschool,” DeRouen said. “I was like drug along to their practices and games, and so I've seen the cheerleaders too almost my entire life. I've always just wanted to be one because it always just looked so fun. I had a lot of role models that were in cheer that I looked up to, and that was something I knew I always wanted to do.”

“My older sister was in cheer,” Wark said. “I remember I was always in the stands, like, as a little (kid) and just cheering her on and learning all of it. I've always looked up to her.”

CHEER DUTIES

The varsity cheer team practices Monday, Tuesday and Friday mornings before pep rallies. The team cheers at every football, volleyball and basketball game, as well as during the pep rallies before every home game.

“I love like the environment at Friday night games and there's so much adrenaline at pep rallies; it's just a lot of fun,” Porter said.

The cheer team also regularly visits local elementary schools and performs spirit rallies for them.

“We just spread school spirit and get everybody excited to support our school,” Greene said.

“I really love being able to rally that much positivity and that much happiness throughout my school,” said Wark, who has been the team mascot for the past year and a half.

“As a cheerleader, you're meant to invoke the spirit and you're just meant to lift everyone up and pretty much just represent the school in the best light you can and be completely positive about everything about Granbury High School,” DeRouen said. “Basically, your job is just to lift spirits, encourage and make games a fun environment to be at. We're meant to be ambassadors for the school, which means that we get to represent them in so many ways. My favorite part is getting to represent the school in such a positive way and just basically getting to be at everything.”

Porter has a unique role in her team, as she serves as the top girl, or flyer — the one lifted and thrown in the air during stunts. She also choreographs their routines.

“I like stunting and dancing,” she said. “I think pyramids are my favorite whenever all of our groups are together and we're all connected in a stunt. I also just choreographed our last pep rally. I love choreographing and putting it all together.”

TEAM BONDING

Being on a team, like cheer, allows the seniors to build close bonds with their teammates.

“My favorite part (about cheer) is probably building friendships and relationships with the girls,” Greene said. "High school is kind of hard. You lose friends when you get here, so when you're on a team, like cheer, you have people you're always with, and you have those friendships and relationships.”

“I just love being a part of a group who can, like, bring spirit amongst the whole school. It's just very exciting to be a part of,” said Thomas, who is varsity cheer captain. “I love how we can all honestly work together regardless of captain seniority and all of the things that go into it. I'm just so happy we can all work together, come together and have a good time.”

SPRING COMPETITION

Every year in April, the cheer team competes in the UIL state competition, and this year’s squad is already preparing.

“I'm excited for the competition coming up because last year we did really well,” Barks said. “We were 11th in state and so we're excited to see how we go this year and how it's all going to turn out.”

“I hope to at least place this year,” Porter said. “First place is the ultimate goal, obviously, but I mean, I would like to get top three or top five at least.”

LEAVING THE PIRATES

Many of the seniors will be sad to leave the school after graduation, but have enjoyed their time as a Granbury Pirate cheerleader and are excited for their future.

“It's kind of sad, but like, leaving it is going to be hard, but knowing that this is the last year and like I did it all four years — it was hard for me personally to make it through all four years — but I like knowing I made friends through it and that I made relationships that I can take to college with me, and come back and have people here to cheer on, so I can keep cheering in a sense,” Greene said.

“I'm gonna be sad leaving the girls. I have a lot of friends that are juniors,” Barks said.

“I am so happy; it's been a long ride. I'm just so happy to have experienced all of it, and I honestly couldn't have asked for a better program,” Thomas said.

“It's been nice to have ridden this whole thing out since freshman year, and now I'm finally here. It's nice to have gotten to this point,” DeRouen said.

“It feels kind of weird, honestly, like I've always looked up to the seniors that have been here and, you know, seeing them in such highlights and being here myself, it feels kind of different,” Wark said.

“Honestly, I'm just trying to make it count with all these girls,” Porter said. “I have grown up with a lot of them through tumbling growing up, like I've known some of them forever, so this last year it's kind of sad, but I want to make sure that I make the most of it, make all my memories and make sure that I try my best in everything I do.”

Kathleen McLaurin, the varsity cheer coach, said she is excited to see what the seniors do in regard to their future.

“They’re a very close-knit group. A lot of them have cheered together for four years, some of them cheered together in middle school and some of them even cheered in Peewee,” McLaurin said. “They’ve grown up together. They’ve known each other a long time. I’m looking forward to seeing them finish strong at our UIL competition and what they’re going to do with their future. I look forward to when they come back and see me.”