Competitive cheer is a new and growing sport at DePaul Prep. Head Varsity Cheer Coach Desiree Dollak and Assistant Coach Pat Donlan led the varsity cheer team all the way to sectionals this year. This season, the girls practiced almost daily in preparation, learned multiple complex choreographed routines and stunts. 

The girls competed in the small varsity division. This means they were up against other small schools. They competed in three individual competitions where they performed against multiple other schools at a time. The competitions are very fast paced. On a typical comp day, the girls get up early and have to be at school at the latest, 9:00am. 

“We have to do our hair and makeup and show up in exactly the same uniform because it’s all a big part of competitive cheer,” according to sophomore cheerleader Avery McMonigal. 

They get there earlier and help each other out with hair and makeup before getting on the bus to the school where the competition will take place. Once there, they make their way to an empty classroom and unpack everything they need such as props. They then make their way to warmups then compete.

 “The whole thing is very go go go,” said senior co-captain Elly Weber. 

At the first competition, they ended up landing in 1st place, and at the second they placed 3rd. How the placing works is the top five scoring teams get to move up. 

At sectionals, the team competed against twelve other schools in the small varsity division. The team placed 6th with a score of 81.17, just 0.2 points away from 5th place. 

“Our team definitely had the best performance we’ve ever done… It was very emotional but we did a lot better, score-wise than last year,” according to Weber.  

The whole cheer program is a welcoming, supportive group. The girls especially mentioned Donlan, in addition to Dollak. 

“He was a main factor in us wanting to do good and put in effort. He put in extra effort and time into making the team feel supported,” said Weber 

“An important part is just believing in them,” said Donlan. 

Shifting from sideline to comp season added extra pressure and made their schedules more busy. They had extra practices while still cheering at sometimes multiple basketball games within the same week. But, they managed to stay on top of things and have a great end to their season. 

“The shift to daily practices definitely made our days longer, but it was worth it because we did really well in the end because of it,” according to McMonigal. 

“The girls did amazing,” Dollak said. “The team really came together and finished off the season with a nearly perfect routine.”