By: Hannah Guida

The Farmers cheerleaders are back from the national competition.

Taking second place in the West Coast National Competition on Feb. 11 in Anaheim, California. There were five competing teams in their category which consisted of medium sized varsity teams.

“The dynamics before, we were all a little tense and on edge, but afterwards I felt like we were more of a team than before.” said Jaycee Dahl, who is the captain and the only senior remaining on the team.

They were the only team in Colorado to attend the competition. “They were a good team because they worked together,” said coach Jen Marquez. “They all worked harder at becoming a team.”

“[We are] actually a team that works together and helps each other out,” said Dahl. The girls have improved so much, “considering our circumstances,” says junior Marina Tricarico.

The team had initially started with Colette Wagner as head coach, but she resigned earlier in the year. Principal Griff Wirth and Vice Principal Margaret Stanley asked Marquez who teaches reading and English on the Farm, to take over the team, due to her previous coaching experience. She had coached from when she was 19 up until about four years ago. She “missed little parts of coaching”, but she really missed the team aspect and seeing the girls grow as a squad. She admitted that it is a huge time commitment for her, but she praised the girls for their positive attitudes and their “dedication to improving.”

Dahl says that all of the girls love Marquez and hope she continues to coach in the years to come, but her time commitment is not fair to Marquez.

Since the cheer season is over, Dahl will have to step down from captain of the cheer squad when she walks across the stage this May. Tricarico recalls, “Jaycee worked really hard as a captain and we will all miss her.”
Even though the girls are done for the season, they will still continue to progress as individuals and come together next year as a team.