Cheerleaders Perform at Rockhurst Halftime
Cheer performs at halftime of the Rockhurst game versus Jefferson City Oct. 19.
PHOTO | Stephanie Vince
Seniors Mimi Wright, Liz Oltjen, Savannah Childress, and Lola Tebbe perform the dancing portion of the cheer routine performed at Rockhurst halftime Oct. 19. The routine was organized by the seniors, as is tradition.
The cheer team performed at Rockhurst High School during their football game against Jefferson City High School at halftime Oct. 19. The cheerleaders had a team tailgate in the parking lot before the game to celebrate their performance.
“It was really fun and great to get together before going out to perform to really enjoy the experience” freshman Trinity Mayer said.
Senior Liz Oltjen hits her prep lib at the Rockhurst cheer performance Oct. 19.
Seniors Liz Oltjen, Savannah Childress, and Lola Tebbe were in charge of making the music and routine for the Rockhurst performance. This is a senior tradition for the team. Childress and Tebbe made the music, while Oltjen did the counts for the performance including stunts, tumbling, and choreography. They all participated in making the choreography for the dancing points of the performance. Childress said she was very proud of the reaction that they got from the crowd when performing and, following the performance, with friends recognizing their work.
Sophomore Paxton Misemer, senior Liz Oltjen, sophomores Matia Ianni, Jane Oltjen, and junior Meg Wilkerson hit their final stunt, a pyramid, at the Rockhurst halftime performance Oct. 19.
“I have never felt more rewarded.” said Childress, “Getting off the field and having everybody compliment it and knowing you put in all the hard work was really nice.”
The performance consisted of two dance sections, one main stunting section, and two pyramids. The routine took a total of a month to put together, an estimated 15 hours in total according to Oltjen.
“We are so thankful for their hard work and dedication to the team,” Oltjen said. “We couldn’t be more proud of the Rockhurst performance.”
This is the first year for many of the cheerleaders, senior Mimi Wright, junior Tehya Frederick, and sophomore Matia Ianni are all upperclassmen that are on the team for the first time. Along with the freshmen, there were many new additions to the team.
Junior Tehya Frederick, sophomore Anna Gordon, senior Mimi Wright, and junior Brooke McKee dance in the Rockhurst performance Oct. 19.
“I was excited, not really nervous until two minutes before halftime when we went down to the field,” Mayer said.
Putting a lot of work for the seniors to accomplish many were overwhelmed with the assignment, but seeing as they pulled it off the cheer team was pleased with their performance according to Oltjen.
“There was definitely a lot of work,” Oltjen said. “But as NCA always says, the work was worth it.”