MORENCI — The Morenci varsity competitive cheer team entered the season looking to raise the standard with a group of hardworking underclassmen and no real varsity cheer experience between them.
Head coach Robyn Taylor knew going in that it would be a rebuilding year for the program and welcomed the challenge.
“With a team made up of only freshmen, competing against varsity teams with upperclassmen was a challenge,” Taylor said. “But they hung in there all season, beating a few teams along the way.”
The rebuild didn’t get any easier along the way as the only sophomore on the team, Harley Ohlinger, went down with a season-ending knee injury.
“We ended our season with five girls due to Harley’s injury,” Taylor said.
Despite the injury and inexperience, Taylor saw major improvements as the season played out.
“The girls made huge strides this year,” Taylor said of her young team. “They increased their overall score by more than 60 points.”
The Bulldogs had set lofty goals for the season, including trying to make it out of the district tournament and move on to regionals.
“We didn’t make it out of districts but they had an amazing showing,” Taylor said of her team’s performance. “The future looks very bright for competitive cheer.”