Kansas State cheerleaders come to BHS camp

The Bigfork High School cheerleading squad received a big boost for their upcoming season, with a clinic taught by Kansas State University cheerleaders and advisors.

"I've worked with Bigfork for a long time and their skill level has always been one of the best in the state and that's due a lot to their coach, Heather Epperly," said KSU Cheerleading Coach Dani Ruoff.

Ruoff and her assistant coach have been putting on Mini-cheer and Dance Fests all over Kansas, Montana and Wyoming this summer with the help of some of her male and female cheerleaders.

"They really took what we said to them to heart and worked hard on everything we gave them," said KSU cheerleader Abby Windhorst. "They were really eager to learn."

During the cheerfests, which are clinics that run a few days, held at a hosting school's facility, the high school cheerleaders learn new stunts, cheers and dances while also improving their technique for those they already perform.

"I had girls fly at the camp that have never flown before, and girls doing more challenging stunts than they've ever done before, all under the guidance of Kansas State cheerleaders," Epperly said. "The boys worked really hard too. It gave us a really good foundation for us to put together a stunt team."

Bigfork's cheerfest, which was also attended by the cheerleaders from Stevensville High School, was a two-day event held at Bigfork Middle and Elementary School.

"They learned a lot," Ruoff said. "The Bigfork kids did a great job. They just kept going. They had great attitudes and worked really hard. We had to make them take breaks."

This year's BHS squad is comprised of mostly returning members. Of the boys, seniors Jerry Rose and Kenny Patrick have both returned to help with stunting, and Andrew Olson, a junior, is new to the squad. The boys participate in clinics and some practices in the summer and fall, but they only stunt with the girls in the winter because Epperly feels that the weather conditions in the fall make it potentially unsafe for them to stunt at football games.

"We have some exceptional athletes that are doing college level stunts," Epperly said. "They are really dedicated to keeping it safe and they work hard to keep the stunts in control."

All of the girls on this year's varsity squad were on BHS' varsity or junior varsity squad last year. They are seniors Kayla Carlson, Chelsea Mahlum and Kaitlyn Shults, juniors Haily Hall, Ariel Stallknecht and Bailey Vogt and sophomore Halisia Hubbard. The junior varsity squad for this year is Jeanie Schenck, Riley McCord, Skye Atchley, Zoe Gaiser, Hannah Rudolph and Marcy Franklin.

"We're excited to build on where we left off," Epperly said.

The squad made big improvements on their stunting and dance routines last year and they plan to continue to make positive changes this year.

"We try to change things up every year," Epperly said. "We're trying to get rid of some of the old cheers. I have some girls that are willing to make up some new routines for us."

BHS's cheerleaders haven't taken the summer off like most athletes, either. They performed in the Bigfork Fourth of July parade, which they spent two weeks preparing for, and prior to last week's cheerfest they held a handful of practices to refresh their skills.