How do you build a five-person pyramid? The Mascenic Vikings winter spirit team has figured that one out, along with a host of other new questions posed by this unusual sports season.
“I’ve definitely tested my limits this year,” said Mascenic senior captain Sami Brundige. “I never thought I’d be able to do the pyramid with only five people.”
Mascenic head coach Amy Billings said that team numbers are down around the state this winter, and that’s true at Mascenic too, but the Vikings are making the most of it.
“They’re really pulling it together,” Billings said.
The team isn’t cheering at any basketball games this season, focusing solely on their competitive routines; the girls don’t get the thrill of cheering at the Friday night game in a packed gym, but the extra time spent working on their state championship meet routines is crucial in a season already shortened by about a month up front.
Meets are a whole different story this winter, too. Rather than congregate at Pinkerton Academy or another large school for a multi-team meet, teams around the state have a 24-hour window to video-record their routine in their gym – no second takes allowed. Teams then submit their videos and tune in to watch them all live on meet day.
“I think it’s harder in some aspects,” Brundige said, “because you don’t get the adrenaline of being in front of the huge crowd. You don’t get the excitement of comp day as much. But it’s easier in some ways, too, because you don’t get the nerves. We need the adrenaline to perform, but the nerves sometimes can shut us down.”
The NHIAA mandated that certain cheer stunts should not be performed with masks on; for some schools, that meant they could only participate in the “non-build” category. Mascenic applied for a waiver from their school district to allow cheerleaders to remove their masks for the about 2½ minute routine, so they are competing as normal.
That routine is where things get tricky.
The Vikings started the season with six team members, but lost one; that first practice with just the “fierce five” was daunting, Brundige said. As Billings’ “beast base,” Brundige literally has the team on her shoulders, with the help of fellow senior captains Emma Jamer and Marissa Santana. Along with freshman Angelina McCabe, the girls hoist sophomore flier Tiffany Wooster skyward for a triumphant pose before twirling her back to the ground.
Despite the virtual setup, schools are making it fun for the teams in their own ways. Mascenic’s girls gathered at Boynton Middle School last weekend to watch the AstroBlast livestream. When the Vikings learned they took second in the competition, they went outside to find that parents from host Pinkerton had driven out to drop off their trophies.
“It kinda made it feel more like a competition, more real,” Brundige said. “It made the experience more special.”
Billings and Boynton head coach Karen Gibson, who are working side-by-side this season, are getting results. Boynton won the Tri-County League championship, and Mascenic followed their second-place AstroBlast finish with a win at the Battle of the Capitol over the weekend.
The Vikings bobbled twice in their first routine and once in their second; Billings predicts that will lead to a flawless routine for the state championship this upcoming weekend.
Brundige and the Vikings are ready for the big day.
“We just want to push through it,” Brundige said, “just give it our all. We want to win states, and show what we can do, hit our routine clean and know we did that the best that we could.”