Despite the fact that three of her teammates had quit the cheerleading squad two weeks earlier, Morrill High School senior Katrina Kohel decided she would tackle the Nebraska state cheerleading championships alone.
After the other girls needed to leave the team for personal reasons, Kohel’s coach offered to go with her to the competition to strictly observe the 2,700+ girls in 225 teams go after the top prize.
Kohel told the Omaha World-Herald that she said to her coach, “I want to go to state, and I will cheer by myself.”
Image Credit: Facebook
So, she and her coach tweaked the routine for the Game Day Class D division earlier this year. Thanks to her positive attitude, she performed beautifully, yet solo, for the large audience.
When she was done, the crowd roared their approval. The team posted about their pride in Kohel on their Facebook page:
She did it! What an amazing routine! Thank you to each one of our cheer friends, family and fans far and near who packed the stands and cheered with Katrina! The crowd was booming with callbacks on her chants and cheers! Her jumps were soaring through the air and her school spirit was contagious.”
Check out all the pictures from Morrill Lion Cheer’s Facebook Page!
Kohel appreciated the crowd’s enthusiasm. “I had the loudest crowd involvement there. Everybody was cheering with me, and it was amazing feeling.”
Remarkably, her solo performance got her team an eighth place finish out of 12–the highest her team has placed in the last three years! “I feel really proud of myself for knowing I can do it and not giving up. Just getting it done.”