Inside Look at Pep Rally

Friday was our annual pep rally before Homecoming. At the end of the school day, students streamed into the north gym where the dance team, gymnastics team, step team, and cheerleading teams awaited them. Each of the groups had done a run through beforehand to ensure their performances would be flawless for their classmates. Tensions were running high as each of the sports teams was announced, but it all dissipated when the time for the showcases came.

The dance team was spectacular as usual, wowing the audience with their graceful and synchronized movements, completely in tune with the up-beat mashup of songs played to accompany them. The gymnastics team had a more individualized showcase, where each girl had her own chance to display her tumbling across the mat. Junior Danielle Harris seemed to be everyone’s favorite, eliciting deafening applause from the crowd. The varsity and JV cheer teams performed abridged versions of their competition routines as well, having only learned them a week or two prior.

Last to perform was the step team, which was arguably the most anticipated performance of all. Year after year, they induce the most excitement out of the crowd with their astonishing display of synchronized movements and rhythm. “It’s the highlight of my life,” claimed Rachel Vaughan, an avid fan of the step team. Joe VanGostein agreed, even going so far as to say that pep rally “would have been better if the step team performed for longer.” However, this year’s performance was laced with tragedy; over the summer, a beloved member of the team, Twanny, was lost to us all. Joet Cooper, a senior member of step, described him as “always smiling and coming up with new steps” and spoke about how he “loved being a part of something and was loved by everybody.” To show their love and appreciation for him, the step team dedicated their performance to him and drove many to tears with this touching tribute.

Needless to say, Pep Rally was quite emotional this year, but it was a wonderful start to the school year and an outstanding segue to Homecoming weekend.