By Chris Cox 

Belle Plaine cheer coach Jolene Blackwell knew this year would be a little different with just two returning cheerleaders.

“This is definitely a new year,” Blackwell says with a chuckle. “We’ve had our ups and downs, but they’ve all gotten along really well. They are a fun group and are very upbeat.” 

Along with just two returners, Blackwell also has just two seniors. Victoria Karagianis is the team captain and one of the two returners.

“She has done really well this year,” Blackwell says. “She has done a lot of things to keep the squad together. She leads in a lot of ways.”

The other senior, Isaiah Landreth, is cheering for the first time this year, but he’s been around the squad before serving as the Belle Plaine mascot. 

“He wanted to try cheer this year and he’s pretty good at it for sure,” Blackwell says. “It’s too bad he didn’t start earlier so we could’ve honed his talents a little better.”

With the makeup of the squad, Blackwell says her junior class carries a lot of weight. 

“If they stick with it and return next year, we’ll have a pretty powerful squad,” she says. “They have the motions and ability to do great things. They can stunt and are just solid.”

Blackwell says one of the strengths of this squad is their closeness. That is partly due to the fact they are already friends, but they also got close after being thrown into the fire a bit.

“When we went to Topeka for Game Day, we had some crazy things happen,” she says. “When we got there our hotel didn’t have our rooms. So, we ended up spending the night in one of our cheerleader’s aunt’s and uncle’s basement. That brought the squad really close.”

With all the ups and downs this team has faced, Blackwell says she’s proud of her team.

“I’m really proud of them for getting where they’re at,” Blackwell says. “We’ve had to do early morning practices because everyone had crazy schedules. 5:45 practices aren’t fun for anyone, but they are a really good squad and I really hope those who can will try out again next year.”  

The Belle Plaine cheer squad includes Victoria Karagianis (Sr.), Isaiah Landreth (Sr.), Alexa Flynn (Jr.), Abbi Hilton (Jr.), Aly Ward (Jr.), Madi Zimmerman (Jr.), Haylie Swindler (So.), and Breanna Mowdy (Fr.). Belle Plaine is assisted by Taylor Downing.