LHS teams compete at State Spirit Friday

The Lovell High School cheerleading team will be seeking a three-peat when they travel to Casper this week for the Wyoming State Spirit competition to be held Friday at the Ford Wyoming Center.

LHS won the cheer competition in each of the last two years, but this year the school has been bumped up to Class 3A.

The team will compete Friday at 2:30 p.m.

“The cheer team will be competing in the 3A Gameday category this year,” coach Nicole Hendershot said. “It’s our first year competing in 3A, so it will be exciting to see our team out on the mat. I think we can be competitive in 3A and look forward to seeing all of the team’s hard work come together.

“We have good leadership on our team, and they’ve been pushing each other to be at their best. Our routine starts with a high energy band chant followed by the crowd-leading section including a new favorite cheer -- “Show your Love for the Bulldogs.” The routine ends on a high note with the fight song.”

Hendershot noted that the competition will be broadcast on NFHS.

Members of the team are seniors Whitney Hendershot and Shalon Wilkerson; juniors Ella Spanier, Haley Sanders, Ashley Mangus, Lynn Marchant, Angela Lopez, Savannah Prentiss, Atlee Sanders, Chase Crosby; and sophomores Lindsey Scheid-Leonhardt, Avery Wardell, Kylie Carabay, Jaelen Mayes, Denna Slater, Caitlyn Allen and Candace Walker.

Dance team

The LHS dance team competed in Class 3A last year and placed third in both the Hip Hop and Jazz categories. Lovell will perform the jazz routine at 4:10 p.m. and the hip hop routine at 6:10.

“We are excited for our state competition,” coach Kari Angell said. “We have a pretty young team this year, with only four upper classmen. For our jazz routine, they are dancing to “Slow Down” by Selena Gomez. It is an exciting piece with a lot of technique. I love the sharpness of this routine, especially the ‘wow’ factor at the beginning. We are hoping it will really capture the crowd. 

“Our hip hop routine is a Barbie themed mix. It is a fun, highly energetic routine that the girls absolutely love. It is upbeat with some fun tricks thrown in. These girls are a strong hip hop team, and we enjoy seeing the confidence in all of them while they are working on this routine. Both the jazz and hip hop routines were choreographed by Leslie Jara out of Utah.”

Members of the team are seniors Anastyn Leithead and Livee James; juniors Ella Spanier and Addison James; sophomores Caitlyn Allen, Lindsey Scheid-Leonhardt, Addisyn Perkins, Denna Slater, Paige Spenny, Candace Walker and Avery Wardell; and freshmen Juliette Caldwell, Isabella Martinez and Kelce Winterholler.

All 14 girls will be competing, and Danielle Leonhardt is assisting with the team, Angell said.

“For such a young team, we have seen so much growth from day one,” Angell said. “They have such a hard work ethic, with great attitude and a desire to learn. In November, they competed at a competition in Thermopolis, where the team took first place in the dance category. That was a huge confidence booster for these girls.

With the state competition being in January, it is a challenge to get two routines ready, especially when several girls are involved in other sports and activities. But these girls push themselves and each other every day. We couldn’t be more proud of this team. It has been a great season so far.”

Angell noted that Leithead, James and Spanier were selected for the Class 3A All-State Dance Team, each selected for the second time.