Katrina Kohel went to high-school football games with her family as a child, dreaming of becoming a cheerleader.

Making history by becoming the first cheerleader to perform solo at the Nebraska State Cheer and Dance Championships, however, wasn’t in the plans.

Ms. Kohel, a senior at Morrill High School in Morrill, Neb., had been looking forward to performing at this year’s competition, she said. But a few days before the event in February, her cheerleading coach April Ott told her that the other three members of the squad had quit, leaving her no one to perform with, she said.

Ms. Kohel mulled over the news and decided to perform alone. Performing at the championship was one of the last big events for her as a high-school cheerleader before she would set off to join the U.S. Air Force and later attend college to become a nurse, she said.

“I wanted to go out with a bang,” said Ms. Kohel, 17 years old.

Ms. Kohel has been part of her high-school cheerleading squad since she was a freshman, juggling that with school and also playing basketball, volleyball and track. She said she was attracted to cheerleading because of the confidence boost it gave her, especially in front of large crowds. Plus, cheerleading was just fun, she said.

Ms. Ott said she expected Ms. Kohel to be disappointed when she told her the other members of the squad wouldn’t be going to the competition. The coach told her they would still be able to take their trip to Grand Island, Neb., where the event was being held, so they could watch the other teams perform, Ms. Ott said.

When Ms. Kohel told her she still wanted to compete, Ms. Ott was stunned.

“I was like, ‘Whoa, are you serious?’” Ms. Ott said.


Katrina Kohel worked with her coach to change the routine to work for one person rather than a team of four.
PHOTO: DONNA WIEDEBURG
After talking it out with Ms. Kohel, the coach got in touch with the Nebraska Coaches Association, which hosts the annual championship, to ask if she could perform alone.

“Honestly, it had never taken place before,” said Darin Boysen, executive director of the Nebraska Coaches Association.

Mr. Boysen had to check the organization’s rules to see if it was even allowed. After determining there was no minimum number of cheerleaders required to form a team for the competition, the group gave Ms. Kohel the OK to compete, he said.

Then Ms. Kohel and Ms. Ott got to work. They changed Ms. Kohel’s routine so that it would work for one person rather than a team of four. Ms. Kohel then practiced for eight days straight to get ready for the performance.



In this year’s competition, 115 cheer squads participated, Mr. Boysen said. The smallest cheer squads competing, other than Ms. Kohel, had five members, he said. The largest team had 27.

Word had spread at the competition that Ms. Kohel would be performing solo. When she took the floor to perform her three-minute routine, the stands were filled with teams from all over the state cheering her on. About 2,000 people made up of paid attendees and competing teams were in the stands to watch her performance, Mr. Boysen said.

“It was nerve-racking,” Ms. Kohel said. “Once I stepped on the mat, everything floated away. My mind was just clear, and I just relied on muscle memory to get through my routine.”

The supportive crowd was loud, Ms. Ott said.

“It was just a feel-good moment with the roar of the arena all around you,” she said. “It gave you goosebumps.”

When her performance was over, a stream of cheer squads came over to hug and congratulate Ms. Kohel. She placed eighth out of 12 teams for her competition.

“I was thrilled I made the decision to go out there and compete even though I was by myself,” Ms. Kohel said. “It’s a hard feeling to describe. It just made me proud to see how many people were inspired by it.”

Write to Joseph De Avila at joseph.deavila@wsj.com


link: https://www.wsj.com/articles/s...nce-championships-89

It's nice that she opted to compete. And especially that the others at the competition supported her.

Why did others in her squad quit?

It does not say. Teenage girls are very fickly.

quote:

Originally posted by ZSMICHAEL:
It does not say. Teenage girls are very fickly.

I think you misspelled "flaky"

Well done!

I know who I'd want on my team in the Air Forse or the OR.

quote:

posted March 05, 2023 01:54 PM Hide Post
quote:
Originally posted by ZSMICHAEL:
It does not say. Teenage girls are very fickly.
I think you misspelled "flaky

Yep I meant finicky.

Good for her
link to performance https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWzFVG3SExg

The "individual" still has a place in the increasingly woke world. Good for her!

quote:

Originally posted by .38supersig:
Well done!

I know who I'd want on my team in the Air Forse or the OR.

Absolutely!

I'm very proud of her.

I bet there is a lot of drama behind the decisions of the others to quit. . .

Good on her. That took guts.

It said in the story on Foxnews about this that she was from a small rural school and she played in a district basketball championship the night before. That the students participated in whatever sports they wanted to and this girl was on three sports teams as well as cheer. So probably the other cheerleaders did the same and decided to cut out the one activity in favor of others they were participating in. I wouldn't read anything more into it than that at this point.

That’s an awesome story. Good for her for not quitting when faced with adversity.

Awesome story and very proud of her as she will go far in life and has an excellent future !!! God Bless !!!

Good for her!

quote:

She placed eighth out of 12 teams for her competition.

I bet there were four teams (#9-#12) who were a little humbled.

Improvise, adapt and overcome!

This girl's a winner!

Similar story.

https://www.theepochtimes.com/...b98WJ6umKxqIJZtpQ%3D

Brave 8-Year-Old Cheerleader Competes Solo When Her Team Doesn’t Show Up, Wins First Place

An 8-year-old cheerleader made a brave decision when her team didn’t show up for a competition, surprising herself and her coaches by performing alone and earning first place.

Peyton Thorsby of Pasco County, Florida, was the only member of her cheerleading team, the Ktech Krakens, to show up for their 6 a.m. call at the Showcase of Championships cheer competition at Florida State Fairgrounds in December 2022. Peyton’s coaches were given the opportunity to forfeit, but the 8-year-old surely had other ideas.

cont...