Warsaw High School - Ozark Echoes Yearbook (Warsaw, MO)

Page 27 text:

Varsity Cheerleaders Juniors: Michelle Wallace, Con Cutler. Gina Crabtree. Kirsten Gott. Michelle McGhee, and senior. Missy Hudgens. attempt a formation to Up with the Wildcat pride during a pep as- sembly. Photo by Kara Hash Mictielle Wallace, junior, smiles with satisfaction alter successfully completing. Aim for the top Photo by Kara Hash Missy Hudgens, senior, and junior. Heather Lynch, do their best to cheer the Wildcats to victory against Stover during the homecoming game. Ph. to by Kara Hash

Page 26 text:

Don ' t stop until you get it right Ok! Are we all ready? One, two... Wait! Get her down! She ' s killing my wrist! This is what one would have heard had one attended a practice when the 1987-88 Varsity cheerleaders were learning how to do the basket toss. Get- ting this stunt perfected was far from easy, but the girls seemed to perform it pretty well. Practice began in the summer with camp for Heather Lynch, as the guinea pig. Captain, Michelle McGhee, and last year ' s co-captain, Michelle Gillman were throwing Lynch. The power exerted from Gillman was quite a bit more than that from McGhee and Lynch ended up flying over McGhee ' s head and crashing to the floor with a broken wrist. Lynch said, I probably should have asked them if they knew how to catch before I let them throw me in the air. But, nevertheless they came home from camp with two blue ribbons, three red ribbons, and a spirit stick. While at camp, they learned new partner stunts, jumps, and floor and crowd cheers. Missy Hudgens, senior, said, Camp was a lot of hard work, but I think we learned quite a bit and we got a chance to brush up on a lot of rough spots. The cheerleaders performed their basketball homecoming routine to Bad by Michael Jackson. They incorporated more cheerleader stunts into their per- formance instead of regular dance moves. Since cheerleading was declared a national sport this year, the girls officially earned a varsity letter. Row one: Senior, Missy Hudgens; junior, Ginc Crablree, Row two: Junior, Cori Culier; junior, Gina Findley; and junior Kirsten Gott. Row thiee: Junior, Micheile Wallace, junior. Heather Lyncti, and junior captain, Mictielle McGtiee. 22 varsity cheerleading JT .. . designed by micheile mcghce Gina Findley, junior, begins the pom pon ripple in the homecoming cheerleading dance perfor- med to Bad by Michael Jackson. Photo by Kara Hash

Page 28 text:

Younger squad shows promise Though one might not have suspec- ted it, cheerleading turned out to be much more work than most people, who aren ' t involved with the sport, realized. There actually is no season tor the cheerleaders, tor they are kept busy all year round practicing, even through the entire summer, to perfect cheers and routines for all of the sports events. Unlike any other sport, cheerleading is a year-round sport, commented Kim Gillman, freshman and co-captain. Beginning in April with try-outs, the long year got off to a good start with the usual large turnout for the required prac- tices. The 17 best were chosen for the varsity and junior varsity squads. The two squads traveled to Sf y!SU for a week of camp in August. The junior varsity received several red and blue ribbons and two spirit sticks throughout the tedious week. The squad survived the season with only one injury-Cinda Findley, freshman, hyper-extended her elbow a few days before camp. As a result, Findley was out for several weeks. During basketball season, they per- formed a dance routine to What ' s He Got , and for homecoming they teamed up with the varsity squad for one big Up With the Wildcat Pride formation. Cheerleading has been recognized as an official sport by the MSHSAA, (Mis- souri State High School Activities As- sociation), but was seldom treated as one by many, for few realized the time, dedication, and just plain hard work that this activity required. To the cheerleaders, cheering was more than just a pasttime. The cheerleaders were grateful when their hard work was praised by spectators, but occasionally snide comments were overhead. Being a part of the younger squad, the junior varsity withstood many of these remarks. Cheerleading is just as much work as any other sport, stated Amy Potter, sophomore. We have to work just as hard and practice just as much. If it were to be defined, a junior var- sity team squad might have sounded something like: A junior varsity sports team is just as the name suggests-a JUNIOR varsity- training for varsity. A junior varsity team seemingly ' stands in the shadow ' of the varsity. A younger team may work har- der to receive the recognition they feel they deserve, but they are still regarded as the underdog. Missy Hudgens, senior, a member of the 87-88 varsity cheerleading squad, and former junior varsity cheerleader stated, it ' s really hard being on a J.V. team in anything you do, because people just don ' t get involved in J.V. sports. Varsity sports seem to be high- lighted much more which, really isn ' t fair. But the members of the 1987-88 junior varsity cheerleading squad ac- quired what it took to work together to be a success. Varsity works hard. They ' re older, and should get the most recognition. But I feel that this year ' s J.V. squad has worked very hard and we should be recognized too, remarked Amy Fisher, sophomore and co-captain. — il H 24 J.V. cheerleading designed by heather lynch