MFL MarMac Cheer Team to compete in its first ever state competition
By Audrey Posten | Times-Register
The MFL MarMac Bulldog Cheer Team will compete in its first ever state competition on Saturday, Nov. 2.
The Bulldogs will be in the Game Time Spirit category—one of three options for teams at the Iowa Cheerleading Coaches’ Association State Championships held at the Jacobsen Building on the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines.
“As I’ve become more acclimated to cheerleading in Iowa—I’ve attended some coaching conferences—I found a category I thought we would be successful in competing in,” said coach Kelli Saxe. “The division they call Game Time Spirit is Iowa’s version of Game Day, which is a category you can go all the way to nationals in.”
According to Saxe, Game Time Spirit, or sideline cheer, is what most cheerleaders in Iowa do. It consists of a two-minute routine. One minute includes a crowd interaction cheer and the other is the school song.
“They kind of model it after basketball. They have a basketball timeout buzzer, and you enter the mat like you would if you’re entering the court. You have that minute to get your cheer in, then the minute for your school song,” Saxe said. “I feel like that’s what we do on a weekly basis, the crowd interaction cheers and school song. I felt that was the division we could find the most success.”
Twenty-six teams will compete in the division, based on the schools’ classification in basketball. MFL MarMac is in 2A.
Saxe anticipates seeing opposing cheer squads from the football season, as well as many others. Her overall team goal is to score in the top half.
The Bulldogs have put in extra work to prepare for the competition. They’ve even practiced within taped lines on the gym floor at the McGregor Center, meant to simulate a cheer mat.
“We knew this was going to be a long-term goal, so we’ve done more practices than last year, knowing we were going to want to continue working toward this,” Saxe said.
Karish Kluth, a senior and four-year cheer participant, admitted she was nervous when the coach approached the team about competing.
She thought, “This is completely new. I don’t think I’m ready for this.”
“But after practice, I’ve become excited. Our routine is very good,” Kluth shared.
Fellow senior Aleyah Griffith is equally excited. She feels MFL MarMac will stand out because a lot of team members add their own touches and have good facial expressions.
“Watching other teams’ routines, you don’t always see that,” Griffith said. “This is the first time our cheer team is going to state in MFL MarMac history. I’m really excited for our team to go out there and make history.”
Three members of the cheer squad are also part of the Bulldog Dance Team, which has won state titles for two straight years. Before coming to MFL MarMac, Saxe was also a long-time cheer coach and involved in competitive cheer in Wisconsin. While helpful, that experience doesn’t always completely translate, she warned.
“Even though I have the background of doing well at competition and what it’s all about, I feel like I’m a fish out of water when it comes to Iowa. Everything in Iowa is completely different,” she said.
In a way, Saxe believes the team’s newness to cheer competition is a good thing. They don’t have bias as to what it should look like or how it should be.
“We’re going with the excitement and energy of performing for the first time,” she shared. “I’m excited to get them ready to go. They’re going to do a nice job.”
MFL MarMac is tentatively scheduled to perform at 10:25 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 2. Performances won’t be live streamed, but spectators are welcome to attend. Follow the “MFL MarMac Bulldog Cheer Team” on Facebook for more information.