You can catch the cheerleaders at football and basketball games, but they do more than just cheering at games. I interviewed Sarena Gresko, a junior on Apex High’s varsity cheer team, to see what the team is like and how she got where she is. 

• How long have you been doing cheer?
  • Six years. I started in fifth grade and have been doing it ever since.
• Where are the cheer competitions?
  • One of them is at Dorton Arena, one is at the Raleigh Convention Center, one is in Greensboro, and the others are at different schools.
• How often do you guys compete?
  • We compete five times in a season.
• What is the best thing about cheer?
  • I love that we are like a family. We all push each other to do better and get things done. We also do a lot of activities outside of practice, which really helps us bond.
• What is the worst thing about cheer?
  • The full-outs. We have to do the entire routine over and over again at full energy, and it’s really tiring. We keep doing it until it’s perfect.
• Would you say it was hard to get on the cheer team?
  • My freshman year, it was really hard. I feel like since then it has gotten easier, not necessarily because it is less hard, but because I’m less nervous for tryouts. Once you’ve been on the team you feel like you have a secure spot, so it’s slightly less stressful.
• What is a good skill to have as a cheerleader?
  • You have to be really accepting of change. Things can change quickly, and you can’t complain. You just have to be able to adapt and not question it.
• Do you plan on continuing to do cheer in the future?
  • I’ll definitely do cheer next year, but after that, it depends on where I go to college. There are some college cheer teams that I would want to be on and some that I wouldn’t.
• What made you want to start doing cheer?
  • I used to do figure skating, and then I started gymnastics to help me with figure skating. Later, I realized I didn’t like figure skating that much but stuck with gymnastics. I started doing cheer after I did gymnastics, and I really liked being a part of a team. Then I decided to quit gymnastics and started only doing cheer.
• Do you have any advice for students who may be thinking of trying out for the team?
  • Just be brave and try. It’s worth it! We have so much fun, even though we work super hard and sweat a lot. It’s a really great team to be on.

Thank you, Sarena, for allowing me to interview you and gain some insight about our school cheer team! I wish you the best in the rest of your season and cheer career.