2016 was not kind to the KJH cheerleader squad as it was filled with injuries, people quitting, and others moving away. All of these things made life harder for the rest of the squad.

“These changes upset us because we had gotten too far to lose people and basically have to start over,” Abby Khantharinh said. “We knew we had to hold ourselves together and keep pushing ourselves harder.”

Jaylei Bolton, 8th, felt the impact.

“When losing a member happens, everything changed and there was a lot of pressure fixing everything for games,” Jaylei said. “If it didn’t work out, we didn’t perform.”

Despite these setbacks, the girls practiced hard because practicing helped them improve so that they were ready for gameday.

“My all-time favorite moment of this cheer season was performing because we worked hard at practice and then we got to show people what we had worked hard for,” Deysi Sanchez, 9th, said.

Other than performing, the girls enjoyed getting together and bonding.

“My all-time favorite memory was when we had a cheer lock-in and we were all getting to know one another, did fun activities, team bonding and then at one point got in our feelings,” Syrerra Lovan, 8th, said. “There were no worries, and we were all having a fabulous time!”

Coach Storey admires her girls’ tenacity.

‘I am proud of this year’s team because they have faced so many obstacles, changes and frustration, and yet they have overcome every single challenge that came their way and are a better team because of it,” Coach Storey said. “I am also very proud of them because this team is more advanced in their stunting skills than any other team I have had!”