The State Spirit Competition was recently canceled due to inclement weather. It was rescheduled for March 8, 2023. After training daily for the couple last months, NC cheer and dance members were finally ready to show off their skills this upcoming Friday, January 27th, but Wyoming’s weather had other plans. A winter snowstorm rolled across the area starting the Friday of upcoming competition and was projected to drop between 4-8 inches of snow and bring below zero weather along with hazardous driving conditions. Numerous activities and sports were cancelled as a result.

When asked about the cancellation, varsity cheer member Alysha Benbow expressed frustration regarding the late reschedule date. “Some girls were planning on quitting to do their other sports, and now they have to stay on and continue with both sports,” said Benbow. “We had our bodies and our brains ready, and we were well rested. If basketball was rescheduled there’s no way it would be this much later. We’ve been working since August. No one realizes what we put into it. The hard work. The early mornings.”

The dance team also experienced similar frustrations. “It really impacted us because studio dance competitions start in March. 90% of our team dances at studio competitions,” said varsity dancer Lilly Jackson. “They’re just so close to the competition, so jammed packed, that it makes it a lot more stressful. Now we have to keep working on this. We are all fine with doing it because we love it but it makes the month of March that much more stressful.”  

State Spirit has different competitions, depending on if it’s a 2A, 3A, or 4A high school. A common event all cheer teams participate in is called “Game Day,” and the NC girls were particularly pumped for that competition. For Dance Team, they bring two routines, one in Jazz and one in Hip-Hop. When talking about the team’s potential, Head Coach Baker said “I think they can bring home some trophies.” She doesn’t think the teams have a problem with pressure and are a hundred percent ready. 

Coach Baker says they are hoping to do much better this year and that consistency is the main thing they need to improve. As for now, their most significant competition for Cheer is Kelly Walsh and Rock Springs and for Dance, Cheyenne South and Kelly Walsh. 

Cheerleader William Fittje agrees with Coach Baker and thinks the team is better than ever and that this year could be their year. “We put the work in and we’re taking it home this year,” said Fittje. 

Both the Cheer and Dance Teams will be ready to give it their best, even though it will be another five weeks before they get a chance to earn the top spot. “It hurts to have to wait that long to put out these amazing routines we worked on, but I understand why it was canceled. We’d rather be safe than anything,” said Jackson.