On Nov. 10, 23 cheer teams filled the gym at Wichita Heights, all screaming at the top of their lungs. Music blared from the speakers as a team performed in front of hundreds of spectators. This is what the cheer team experienced while at the Battle of the Squads. 

For the last two weeks, the cheerleaders had been perfecting a routine choreographed by coach Caitlyn Swaney. However, due to unforeseen circumstances involving injury and illness, the formation for the dance had to change twice, putting stress on some of the cheerleaders. 

“[I felt] stressed out,” junior Julia Zoglmann said. “[I felt] we didn’t prepare soon enough.” 

Despite the changes, cheerleaders said they thought it went well. 

“[The competition] went well,” sophomore Lacey Kelly said, “but I think we need to fix some mistakes we made.” 

Battle of the Squads was an experience that cheerleaders said they hoped to experience again. 

“[I would want to go again] because it was a great experience,” sophomore Jan Stuhlsatz said. “Being able to see other teams, small and big, compete was really fun to watch them all.” 

The team received an Excellent rating for their performance.