Athletes of the Week: Kent’s high school cheer teams

The Kent Reporter is starting a program to highlight the athletes on the boys and girls sides.

Every week, two athletes from different high schools will have their names and pictures printed in the Kent Reporter. We are excited to partner with the Kent School District to showcase local high school athletes in our area.

To kick off the 2023 school year, we begin with a year-round team and showcase each school’s cheer team.

Kentlake

Kaia Bott, Isabella Braaflat, Jacee Dye-Ledbetter, Kaylee Guiles, Katie Hanna, Heather Hawley, Kierra Mondini, Leila Neidlinger, Peytin Newton, Isabella Rodriguez, Brooke Wilson.

From the sidelines:

This small but mighty team is comprised of 11 team members. It has the passion, dedication and the talent to soar high this year on the sidelines, supporting our amazing Kentlake falcons football and basketball teams. The cheer team will appear not only on the sidelines, but on the competition mat as well. This team is laser focused and is excited to support everything Kentlake this year.

The team has really set their sights on some ambitious goals for this year, and has already crushed some of them early on by learning some new and difficult skills at UCA camp. The goal is to now perfect those new skills for the competition mat. Last year, Kentlake placed very high in regional competitions. The goal for this year is to beat our score last year at state and hopefully place within the top 3.

Kent-Meridian

Trinity Brown, Skyla Crandle, Cheyenne Lopez, Richelle Washington, Sarahi’ Ramirez-Garcia (Captain), Nora Chandi, Marlene Veveris (Captain), Abby Wright (Captain).

From the Sidelines: The team goals for KMHS Cheer this year are for these kids to be recognized as the leaders they really are. To be appreciated for their ability to rise above the challenges and struggles they have all faced, and still be the example of maturity they arwe for their community. Another goal our team has is to continue to bring the spirit to Kent-Meridian and to institute new and fun traditions that will last long after the current team has graduated.

Kentridge

Ari Woodson, Bailey Meyer, Bailey Flynn, Brianna Carpenter, Carmen Chavez, Chanelle Parks, Jeslynn Saythavy, Jessie Zakhary, Kayla Le, Kayla Nguyen, Kheanna Lopez, Koey Li, Lexus Tran, Marisol Salazar, Morgan Leikam, Olivia Songheng, Samantha Le, Zoey Ha.

From the sidelines:

Our team is comprised of 18 team members who have been working very hard throughout the summer to ensure they are ready to bring the spirit and energy to Friday Night Lights to support The Chargers! This team thrives on working hard, while supporting each other to always do the best they can. We could not have a better group of athletes representing Kentridge cheerleading this year and are so excited for the year to come.

Team goals for this year include qualifying for state at our first competition in November. While Kentridge scored incredibly high at competitions throughout the season last year, the goal is to continue to do better than we did last year. Our biggest competition is ourselves and it pushes our team to always rise to the occasion.

Kentwood

Damia Baldwin, Tara Jaramillo, Reesa Peterson, Alison Tagle, Melanie Learmonth, Saira Ranna-Sinh, Yitzell “Gigi” Quintana, Mia Almanzor, Ava Bartnes, Mia Biedzian, Cassidy Harris, Makenzie Palmer, Aliyah Saeturn, Mady Witzman, Bristol Booth, Lea Demps, Lily Doak, Isabell Kilker, Jackie Manzano Parra.

From the Sidelines: Defend our state titles, support Kentwood Sports and activities, the Kentwood community and increase school spirit! 30 time WIAA State Champions, 2023 UCA Camp Leadership Award Recipient.