The Montezuma-Cortez spirit squads made their first appearance of the school year during the junior varsity football game on Monday evening.
Under second-year coaches Emily Martin and assistant April Beardsley, the cheerleaders got the crowd on their feet throughout the game.
“Our mission is to put people in the stands and bring spirit,” said Martin. “Not only to the school, but to the community.”
Martin and Beardsley also have their eyes on competitions the team will be attending this year. The team had choreograph camp early this season to work on a routine for competitions, and they hope to team up with ATC Gymnastics to learn more tumbling and gymnastics.
Ideally, the Panthers would like to place in the top 15 at state, but competing at the 4A level, they know it will be a challenge.
“A lot of the schools we compete against have cheer and gymnastics as P.E. classes,” said Beardsley.
“We don’t have the same resources,” Martin explained. “We don’t have the same funding.”
However, the Panthers do have better numbers this year, with over 25 girls trying out for the team. The M-CHS squad consists of 18 cheerleaders, including 14 returners and 8 seniors.
And captains Ashley Moore, Tydall Davis and Ronee Dennison will look to lead the team as they bring spirit and compete.
The M-CHS dance team also made their season-debut on Monday, performing a routine at halftime.
Head coach Teaa Warinner says that they too, have grown.
With 14 team members last year and graduating only three, the dance team returns seniors Weslie Kirks, Alejandra McCulley, Emma Cuckie, Kayden Howell, Tashena Martinez, as well as a handful of newcomers.
The team will perform at JV football games, basketball games and pep assemblies, as well as multiple competitions.
After finishing 7th at the state competition last year, Warinner will have the team start working on their hip-hop routine in September in preparation for the state competition in Denver in December.
Warinner hopes to get younger dancers experience throughout the season, but she also has high hopes for the state competition.
“I really want to be in the top third at competition,” she said. “That would be fantastic. Of course, taking first would be great, but I want them to know that just being in the top third is fantastic.”
The cheerleading squad and dance team will be back in action during halftime of the football game against Miyamura on September 4.