On Mar. 12, the competitive cheer team won the Flint Metro League championship for the first time in record history. In a year full of uncertainty, the team was not sure they were going to be able to compete; however, once the team got the go ahead, they were determined. Coach Morgan Martinez, senior Taylor Wire and sophomore Libby Woodard all expressed that hard work and determination led the team to this win.

Approaching and preparing for the competition the team spent hours working to perfect their techniques; however, the team pushed each other to stay motivated and to not lose hope or determination.

“Due to the pandemic, half of our time to prepare was cut in half,” Martinez said. “Thankfully the team continued to work at home and kept their eye on the end goal. We practiced every day we could.”

Although winning was on the team’s mind, they made their first priority having fun no matter what the outcome was.

“The team really kept each other motivated by just giving each other pep talks and making sure we all were still having fun,” Wire said. “We would do little things to get our heads in the right mindset before each round and we did affirmations that would make us believe in ourselves and each other.”

After the team’s victory was announced, the team felt overjoyed. They made history for the second time— the first being when the team went to regionals for the first time.

“It felt amazing,” Woodard said. “We had made regionals my freshman year for the first time and to make Fenton cheer history two years in a row was surreal. I was so proud of my team for pushing through COVID, quarantine and everything else that has happened to us.”

The team had setbacks with teammates being quarantined, and on occasion girls had to learn a new spot the night before or the day of a competition, but the team did not give up.

“It was a tough balance of taking it day by day and keeping our end goals in sight,” Martinez said. “A lot of teams crumble when you deliver bad news, this team didn’t. It was always just an, “okay what’s next” outlook. We were making big changes to our rounds the night before competitions, sometimes even that morning and the team would do it with ease. When you have a group of athletes with that outlook, it’s impossible not to have hope.”

With time to reflect on the season’s lessons, the team had numerous takeaways.

“From this season, I learned that no matter what happens, there’s always light at the end of the tunnel,” Woodard said. “We have been through so much and made it out on top. Even through all of this, we were able to make school history for the second year in a row. I can only imagine how successful we will be next year.”

The cheer team is excited for what is in store next season and want to continue to make history. If interested in trying out for sideline or competitive cheer, visit the Instagram page @fentoncheer_ for more information.