In January, the Stillwater Cheer Team won nationals in two separate categories: Intermediate Coed Varsity Crowd Leading and Game Day Coed Varsity even though they had to compete virtually.

The cheer team had to compete virtually due to weather issues. Sophomore Emerson Murphy felt the way many of her teammates felt.

“I was upset that we couldn’t travel, but I was still happy we could still compete,” Murphy said.

Sophomore Teagan Alberty talked about the work and preparation it took to complete this accomplishment. He said they had a lot of practices that were rough and tiring.

“We had lots of grueling practices,” Alberty said. “We had to get up early before school and late after school, but it was all worth it.”

Sophomore Emma Bretinlinger said she was upset about not being able to travel.

“I was really upset because the day before we were supposed to leave, we found out who we were going to be traveling with,” she said. “When I heard we couldn’t travel we were really bummed.”

Murphy, Alberty, and Bretinlinger all agreed that they will have a good shot at winning again next year and will be working hard to be back-to-back champions.