SLIPPERY ROCK — The first step has been taken. Many more are to follow.

All will be worth the journey.

Such is the belief of Butler graduates Courtney Cashdollar and Rita Giegel, cheerleading coaches at Slippery Rock High who are charting the course for that program's return to competitive cheering.

Varsity coach Cashdollar and JV coach, Giegel, are students at Slippery Rock University. Giegel was a longtime cheerleader for the Pittsburgh Poison and Cashdollar still competes with the FCA Gems program, based in Sarver.

“You get so much out of it,” Cashdollar said of competitive cheering. “It teaches you a lot of discipline and balancing of time.”

She and Giegel want the Slippery Rock girls to receive the same benefit.

That's why Giegel entered the JV squad in the 20-team Cheer for a Cure, a November competition held in New Castle to benefit the American Cancer Society.

“We found out about it in October and had two weeks to prepare,” Giegel said. “We didn't have any kind of routine prepared. We used our routine from football halftimes, added a cheer at the beginning and entered.”

The competitive cheering event was the first for Slippery Rock High in more than a decade — and the squad won.

The JV also won an award for the most creative routine among the high school divisions.

“I won't say I was shocked that we won because I have a lot of confidence in these girls' abilities,” Giegel said. “But that was an impressive performance.”

Members of the JV squad include Alexis Allen, Courtney Brown, Schyler Cameron, Amanda Fagley, Chloe Gibson, Lexi Lema, Olivia Linke, Sam Longdon, Morgan Lucas, Janae Nebel, Hannah Shumway, Jessi Staudacher, Julia Staudacher and Aspen Weitzel.

Cashdollar said the plan is to get the varsity squad involved in some local competitions next year. She is trying to get the unit more involved in the community now.

“We cheered at the Heart Walk at Butler County Community College in the fall. Next year, we want to work on raising donations for that cause,” she said.

SRHS has 16 varsity cheerleaders and nine junior high cheerleaders to go with the JV squad.