Band music sounded as students of all grades entered the gym. Moving to their assigned sections, excitement bubbled in the air around those supporting the cheerleaders.

“This pep assembly was my favorite one because I’m a senior and I feel like I’ve been looking forward to this since my freshman year,” senior Kaitlyn Brown said. “Our class is really fun, I feel like they made it 10 times better and the cheerleaders were my favorite part.”

The assembly started with introductions from each coach. The varsity cheerleaders performed their routine after.

The team has been learning this cheer routine for two months and had an early 6:30 a.m. practice the day of the assembly. Practices normally happen two times a week between 1-2 hours a day.

“The pep assembly is a really big deal,” senior Brooke Pflaum said. “We work so hard on the routine, and we like to show the hard work we’ve done to all of our peers.”

Pflaum is a captain along with seniors Brittany Pflaum, Isabelle Pfeifer and Alyssa Underwood.

Underwood said that in years past, cheerleaders have gotten hurt. However, things ran smoothly this year.

“My favorite part of cheer is getting to be on the team with the girls,” Underwood said. “We’re all pretty close and like one big family.”

21abraun@usd489.com