The Warrior Cheer season has come to an end after the girls performed at their last competition on Saturday, February 26th, at State College High School. The Warriors performed their routine for the last time, with their goal of seeing improvement over the course of the competition year. State College held the scholastic competition first, so the Warriors performed in the morning. This year, the competition had a smaller turnout, with not many teams signing up to compete. Regardless, West Branch wanted to get the chance to improve before they ended their winter season. The Warriors performed, then took to the mat for judging. Although the Warriors did not take home the grand championship, they secured a first-place win in their small varsity division. This competition also featured a jump-off, tumble-off, and basket-toss-off. Senior Gretchen Yatchik took first place in the jump-off for her age bracket. Freshman Kelcey English took home second place in the jump-off for her age bracket. Sophomore Jessica Batcho earned a second-place win for her age bracket in the tumble-off. The girls represented West Branch very well at the competition. Head Coach Heather Dobo explained in a cheerleading post, “To say we are proud of these young ladies is an understatement.” When presented with the score sheet, the team was delighted to find out that the overall scores were improved from previous competitions. The Warrior Cheer season has now ended after the State College competition.
The cheer team has a lot to be proud of regarding their 21-22 season. Last year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the cheerleaders could not travel to away football games. Last year’s season was cut short, so the Warriors were happy to be back for every Friday-night game. The fall season was successful, and it gave the younger cheerleaders a chance to work together before the competition season started. Once the winter season came around, the girls were busy five days a week, practicing their routine. They got the chance to perform their stunts at basketball games and wrestling matches. While cheering at sports games and matches, they also went to four competitions this season. The first competition was significant to the girls, as it was Districts. This season, the Warriors advanced to states after only having done so only twice in the previous decade. The girls then competed at the state competition in Hershey, and although they did not advance to the semifinals, the Warriors were grateful for the opportunity. They then competed at the Tyrone Mountain Top competition, where they placed third. As mentioned above, Warrior cheer then wrapped up their season with a first-place win at State College. This year, there will be three graduating seniors: Breanna Thompson, Ashley Warner, and Gretchen Yatchik.
