Hungry For Gold
CENTER TWP — A “history-grab” bid.
The term made the Butler High School competitive cheer team fume last year.
It also fueled them this season.
The Golden Tornado placed seventh at the WPIAL Competitive Spirit Championships last season and received an at-large bid to compete at the PIAA Championships. Butler took third at the state meet.
“The guys doing (broadcast of) the state competition didn't really know anything about the sport or how it works,” Butler coach Marianne Miller. “We deserved to be there. Our team earned its spot.
“To hint that we got there based on our history ... that was frustrating. It bothered these kids.”
The Tornado came back this season and placed second among 18 teams at the recent WPIAL meet — trailing only host school Hempfield — solidifying their spot in the PIAA Competitive Spirit Championships April 10 in Hershey.
“This team was definitely a motivated bunch,” Miller said.
Butler was the only coed team at the WPIAL event. It received a first-place plaque for that distinction, but also had to compete against the all-girl teams.
In a normal year, 15 WPIAL teams receive state bids. In this pandemic year, only seven bids were doled out — and the WPIAL competition was split into 3A and 2A divisions for the first time.
“There was a lot more pressure to hit the routine this year,” Miller said. “That's what we focused on. It wasn't worth the risk to put really difficult stunts in because you may gain half a point if you hit it, but lose two points if you don't.
“Those lost points could be the difference between staying home or going (to states).”
Butler's squad has no captains. Its seven seniors are Kassie Meyer, Nadia Hindman, Kendall Atkinson, Keith Young, Aleena Hutchens, Emma Stewart and Brynne Shay.“I can't say enough about our seniors,” Miller said. “They are leaders, so talented and respectful of others.“This has been such a different year, wearing masks, no spectators, qualifying for nationals virtually ... our kids overcame all of it.”They overcame an injury as well, losing freshman flyer Alaina McKee to a sprained ankle during a competition at Laurel — one week before the WPIAL meet.That forced a lot of quick adjustments and position shuffling.Carson Boden, a sophomore, replaced McKee as a flyer. Some of the base responsibilities in Butler's 21-person routine changed as well.“One person goes down, it affects a lot of people,” Atkinson said. “We had to alter our routine quite a bit. But everyone works together and we do what we have to do.”Butler's senior class has been part of a team that won the PIAA title two years ago. They were second at states their freshman year, second in the WPIAL as sophomores.“We're going for the gold this time. We're locked in,” Atkinson said.At the PIAA Competitive Spirit Championships, Butler will be competing against other coed teams. The Tornado have three boys — Young, Mike Wheeler and Ben Buser — on this year's squad.“It will be different,” Shay said of going against other coed teams. “But we're confident. Everyone on this team is so dedicated.”Shay has been a cheerleader her entire life. She will not cheer in college as she plans to enter the physician's assistant program at Lock Haven.“My experiences in cheerleading have made me the person I am today,” she said. “I got my motivation in life from doing this.”While the injury forced quick changes to the routine, Hutchens said “we work well under pressure. No one was really phased by it.”Her mother, Andrea Hutchens, was a competitive cheerleader at Butler and the University of Pittsburgh. Hutchens plans to try out for the cheering squad at Slippery Rock University.“My mother has been very helpful to me,” Hutchens said. “She's always optimistic and supportive. She gives me tips without being critical.“She's definitely made me better at cheerleading.”The Tornado practice three days a week for two hours at a time.“We didn't really have to put in extra practice time,” Hindman said of the position adjustments. “Everyone had the right attitude and mind-set.“Everything is challenging in this sport. When it's your time, you have to make it work on the mat. It's so precise. You just have to deliver.”Unlike most of the other seniors, Meyer is in her first and only season as a Butler competitive cheerleader.“My sister (Emily) is on the team and my younger sister (Sara) is on the junior high team,” Meyer said. “I heard they were having tryouts, so I figured, why not?“I was surprised I made the team. I was really surprised by how supportive everyone was and the teamwork that is here. I haven't experienced that anywhere else.”Stewart and Young were teammates on the Tornado track and field team. Stewart talked him into coming out for the cheering squad last year.“We've been best friends for a long time,” she said. “He's my base and I'm the flyer. I have total faith in him.”She needs to, since he's the one who catches her during stunts.Young is not competing in track this spring because of a lingering leg issue. He plans to continue his cheerleading career into college.“I'm impressed with how intense it is and the workout it gives you,” Young said. “This sport is as challenging as anything I've done.”Delaware and Rutgers are among the colleges Young is considering. Former Butler cheerleader Colin Crouch is on Delaware's cheer squad now. Nathan Baker, another former Butler male cheerleader, is on the University of South Florida cheer team.“There are opportunities in this sport for guys,” Miller said. “I think some boys don't come out for cheering because they figure they'll be made fun of. There are stereotypes and stigmas that go with this and that's a shame.“Cheerleading can open doors for kids just like every other sport can.”
