Although I am not on the team myself, I wanted to introduce y’all to the most enthusiastic girls at Magnet: the AMHS cheer team! These girls work their butts off with hours of practice each week, but it all pays off. They bring school spirit to every game they cheer at and have crowds roaring in the stands. I decided to interview the four seniors on the team: Peighton White, Emily Weber, Anna Leigh Tangeman, and Alicia Semenoff.

Cheer Team Captains

Peighton White and Emily Weber are the Cheer Team Captains! Peighton White can best be described as hard-working, friendly, reliable, and ambitious. Emily Weber is energetic, bubbly, optimistic, thoughtful, and devoted.  These two are extremely fun to be around and have great personalities!

The Interviews

I asked all four seniors to talk about their experience being on the cheer team. I gave them the following questions to answer.

1. How long have you been a cheerleader at Magnet?
2. Why did you decide to try out for cheerleading?
3. What is your favorite routine to do?
4. What has been your favorite cheerleading experience?
5. Do you plan on being a cheerleader at your college?
6. Why should students join the cheerleading team next year?
7. What position are you when you stunt?

Peighton White

1. This is my third year on the cheer team.
2. Emily Weber convinced me to try out because I did competitive dance for 12 years and I was looking to join a sports team to get exercise.
3. Doing dances is my favorite part of cheer because it is always sassy and fun!
4. My favorite cheerleading experience is cheering at football games because I love watching the sport and getting the student section pumped up. It is also a good way for team bonding because we all go out to dinner before the game.
5. I do not plan on being a cheerleader in college because I do not want to have that time commitment where I have to practice everyday. I want to be able to focus on my school work. However, if it is not a competitive team where I can just cheer at games I would consider trying out.
6. Students should join the cheer team next year to make friends because we spend so much time together we are like a family. Cheer also is great for physical activity because we are constantly doing cardio. Another satisfying part of cheer is when you hit a skill you never thought you could do. Cheer also helps build self confidence.
7. I am a base.

Emily Weber

1.  I have been a competitive cheerleader at Magnet since my freshmen year and prior to that I did sideline cheer in 7th and 8th grade.
2. I decided to try out because I did cheerleading in middle school and enjoyed it. I wanted to stay with cheerleading and expand my horizons by trying to be a part of the magnet competitive cheer team. Additionally I was excited to try something new and use my tumbling. A junior at Magnet who has since graduated also helped me decide to join because she came up and talked to me and was super sweet and bubbly.
3. I think if I had to pick a favorite routine to do it would be the game day competition I did two years ago. We won by having the best fight song in our 3A division.
4. My favorite cheerleading experience is hard to pinpoint because I have so many! I have met so many amazing people and some who are now my closest friends. I really enjoy cheering at football games and sideline cheer. One of the best football game experiences I have is when I tumbled and the student section cheered my name, that was cool. Camp is another amazing experienceand  I was lucky to go to twice.
5. Maybe, it all depends on what school I go to but definitely something I am considering.
6. Being on the team pushes you out of your comfort zone and encourages you to work with others. Additionally, it is a team sport and you have a bond with your teammates that is unbreakable and this team was how I met some of my best friends. They should also join because you learn fun dances and get to cheer on football and basketball teams.
7. I am a base so I lift people into the air.

Anna Leigh Tangeman

1. I have been a cheerleader at Magnet for 3 years, from Sophomore to Senior Year.
2. I got talked into joining the cheer team my sophomore year by a friend who was on the team (though they themselves didn’t return, I’m disappointed to say). I was looking to join a sport and I immediately loved the supportive energy and enthusiastic nature of the team!
3. My favorite routine is probably our GameDay competition routine, specifically the band chant. It feels a little lower stress than the typical competition routine and we work really hard to get all of our moves in sync and sharp to create a really cool effect. Overall it’s just the most fun we get to have being together as a team!
4. My favorite cheerleading experience has probably been at our team dinners. I think it’s where the team spirit and bonding really gets to shine, as we get geared up for a football or basketball game and go over last minute cheers. I think team dinners allow us all to really grow closer and form close bonds even more than the hard work we do to prepare for games and competition!
5. I do not plan on cheerleading in college, but hey, who knows! If I can find another team as great as the AMHS girlies it’s definitely on the table!
6. I think students should join the cheerleading team next year because it’s a sport that has a place for everyone regardless of skill level (we love teaching new people) and the team spirit really makes you feel more at home at AMHS. Plus our current junior leaders are incredible and cannot wait to welcome more friends onto the team next year!
7. I am a back spot.

Alicia Semenoff

1. Hi!! I’m Alicia and I joined cheer this year.
2. Peighton actually convinced me to join the team because I did gymnastics for 10 years and I was a cheerleader at my old high school and I knew I wanted to cheer here too!
3. My favorite part of cheer is actually cheering at the games because everyone is just so excited to be there!
4. What I love about our team is that everyone is so supportive and kind, and everyone has made me feel so welcome.
5. I don’t plan on doing cheer at college because I don’t think I will have the time and it’s just never been a dream of mine.
6. Students should definitely join the cheerleading team next year because you learn how important it is to be a team and every single person is vital to making a stunt hit or to make the routine look perfect. I’m so excited to cheer for Magnet this year!!!
7. I’m the back spot!!!

Thank you to Peighton, Emily, Anna Leigh, and Alicia for letting me bug them with all of my questions! I hope that this article has convinced some people to join the team next school year!