Red Raider Cheer gets underway with their competitions on Saturday, August 31st at Gregory at 11 a.m. This year’s cheer team is led by coaches, Michaela Ziegler and Ciera Hansen. This is Coach Ziegler’s third year and Coach Hansen’s eleventh year coaching.

Lone senior of the team is Madison Robertson. Sophomore team members are Riley Hernandez, Kieradyn Knudsen, Roper Lhotak, Jacqueline Selwyn, Jaycee Martin, and Hayden Wren. Addison Fischer, Amel Greger, Lyrik Martin, and Lily Wade are freshmen team members. Eighth graders on the team are Julia Krug, Portlyn Jones, Braelyn Jones, and Sienna Kuhlman. Aspyn Schroeder and Jaylee Kafka are the seventh and sixth grade team members respectively.

Wagner Cheer did not attend any camps this offseason, but does usually hold one or two Little Raiders Cheer Camps throughout the year. Last season, Wagner Cheer ended their year placing 6th at state. The team showed incredible growth and strength as they navigated a tough season. The team also earned the SDHSAA Academic Team Award.

For the 2024 season, the team’s goals are to repeat and expand upon the progress and growth that was made last year. Additionally, they are looking forward to growing as a team both in unity as well as in strength. Experience and hard work play key roles on the mat. As they grow to be an older team, the team’s senior, Madi Robertson as well as the sophomores, Riley Hernandez, Kieradyn Knudsen, Roper Lhotak, Jacqueline Selwyn, Jaycee Martin, and Hayden Wren will all play active roles in leading the team by striving to put their best foot forward in both practice and competitions. These team members are integral to the success of both the rookie cheerleaders as well as the team as a whole.

Meets that will be the toughest for the team are usually the ones where they see a lot of teams that are similar to them or are located close to them. The athletes know the people that they are competing against and have a passion to prove themselves and show them just what Wagner can do. The most challenging meets for the team will be those that are held at the biggest schools in the state, Sioux Falls and Brookings. Even though those meets are the most challenging, with the atmosphere charged it is a great way for the athletes to get a feel for how the state meet will look and sound.

As the head coach, Coach Ziegler is looking forward to every aspect of the team this year. Every year, the team exceeds her expectations and goes above and beyond the goals that are set for them. Watching them develop their skills in all aspects is an incredible opportunity as a coach. Coach Ziegler’s coaching philosophy begins with relationship first. Cheer is an emotionally charged sport and kids have a lot going on outside of the mat. Learning how to appropriately behave with each other and how to support team members is a very important part of cheer. Passion is the second part of her philosophy. A love for any sport is essential to ensure that the students enjoy it. Having fun at practice and completing team bonding activities helps play a role in developing both relationships and a passion for the sport. The third part to her philosophy is foundations. As a team they do not do the more difficult skills until the basics are sound and clean.

Wagner Cheer will be hosting its second annual Wagner Cheer Invitational on September 23. They would love to see the community come and cheer on the team.

Best of luck on the 2024 cheer season!