The 2020-21 Powell High School cheerleading season looked far different from years past. 

Before the season, head coach Vicki Walsh hosted virtual tryouts, something that had never been done before. In the fall, the squad saw several positive cases of COVID-19, resulting in the team missing a few opportunities to cheer at football games. And in November, the Wyoming High School Activities Association moved the State Spirit Competition up six-and-a-half weeks — from mid-March to Jan. 28.

Through it all, Walsh is proud of what her team accomplished.

“It was very hard, and just seeing their progress was the biggest highlight for me,” Walsh said. “It was a tough year for cheer, and doing what we did in such a short amount of time was a highlight.”

When she first received the news of the modified schedule, Walsh admitted she was “terrified” about the pushed-forward spirit competition. The coach wasn’t alone. 

Of the team’s 12 members, seven were freshmen. Preparing for state spirit was a new endeavor for those seven, so it was up to the upperclassmen to guide them ahead of the rescheduled event.

“A lot of us didn’t know what to do, so they helped us learn quickly and just kept encouraging us to keep going,” freshman Kolby Crichton said. 

Junior Rylee White added, “As upperclassmen, we had to lead them to better themselves as cheerleaders. I think we were role models to them, hopefully they look up to us.”

In spite of the craziness of a moved-up spirit competition, Walsh saw improvement from her team in the two months leading up to the event.

“They grew throughout the season,” Walsh said. “When you have a young team, it can be hard, but I think my returners really helped the younger kids, so that was really good.”

The 2020-21 season was also unconventional for another reason: the squad had two boys, Crichton and senior Geordan Weimer. Because of this, PHS was able to compete in the co-ed category at state spirit for the first time in program history.

“We had our game day routine done before we knew that date changed, so we just had to perfect that one,” Walsh said. “Then we decided, ‘What the heck, we have two boys this year, let’s do co-ed.’ We’ve never done co-ed before, so it was challenging, but these kids stepped up.”

At the state competition in Casper, PHS finished fourth in both game day cheer and co-ed cheer. The Panthers posted 84.45 points in game-day and finished ahead of seven competing schools.

With mask mandates, fewer spectators and fewer businesses open in the Ford Wyoming Center (formerly the Casper Events Center), the event looked different. But it was still memorable for Walsh and the athletes.

White said the state tournament probably remained the highlight of the season.

“We’re preparing so much for this one event,” she said, “and when you’re finally there, you can kind of relax and have fun as a team.”

Walsh added that, “I’m thankful that we got to compete in person with a crowd. There weren’t as many fans as normal, but it was good.”

With state spirit in the rearview mirror, the team can relax. The athletes will still practice and cheer at boys’ and girls’ basketball games, but the team doesn’t have to worry about perfecting a routine for competition — until next year. 

“Until then, we’ll keep practicing and trying new things,” junior Morgan Schmidt said. “It’s going to be a lot different being a senior, but Riley and I now have the experience of leading a team.”