All Local, All The Time
All Local, All The Time
The Niwot High School Cheerleading team: Front row (l to r), Marlene Schuler, Audrey Perez, Assistant Coach Wendy Coopersmith, Coach Christina Ayers, Cassidy Skole, Juliette Cook, Azariah Lucero, Juliette Sales; back row, Audrey Bartel, Collette Sullivan, Liberty Wise, Olivia Marcellus, Kyla Helme, Isaac Romero, Fernanda Laguna-Lopez, Clara Rhea and Nadia Pai.
The Niwot High School cheer squad practices a routine at Niwot Children's Park last summer.
The Niwot High School cheerleading squad is headed to the state competition, tentatively set to begin Friday, Dec. 8, at the Denver Coliseum.
Coach Christina Ayers's squad just finished the high school football season, and has already begun appearing in local and regional competitions. Squad members include Ashley Lavato, Audrey Perez, Ayushi Bhandari, Azariah Lucero, Cassidy Skole, Clara Rhea, Elizabeth Sullivan, Fernanda Laguna-Perez, Isaac Lopez, Juliette Cook, Juliette Sales, Kyla Helme, Liberty Wise, Nadia Pai, Olivia Marcellus, Monica Sanchez, Audrey Bartel, Marlene Schuler, and Colette Sullivan.
The Cougar cheerleaders participated in the Boo Bash at Roosevelt High School in late October. "We had a good showing," Ayers said. "It was our first competition."
They followed up by participating in the Longs Peak League championships Nov. 1. "We got some really good feedback on our routines," Ayers said. "We're right where we want to be. We added one of our boys and took third place. We competed in the co-ed division for the first time."
Next up for the cheer squad is Winterfest in Greeley, with 15 to 20 other schools, on Nov. 18.
Although the squad competed in the co-ed division at the league championships, "We will be all girls at state," Ayers said. "We have quite a few underclassmen who have never competed before."
After the state competition, the cheer squad will focus on the basketball season, cheering for both the boys and girls programs at Niwot. And for the second year in a row, the cheer squad will travel to California in February for the USA Spirit national competition. "It's a long season," Ayers acknowledged.
Ayers has been assisted by Wendy Coopersmith this season. Coopersmith, who was formerly the cheer coach at Windsor High School, stepped down from that position, but accepted an assistant coaching role at Niwot after Athletic Director Joe Brown contacted her. "She has quite a few years of experience," Ayers said. "We love having her here." Coopersmith is also the president of the Spirit Group of the Colorado High School Coaches Association.
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