The Wolverine cheerleaders team, coached by Kimberly Dodge and assistant coaches Kayla Bott and Stephen Adam Holt, consists of 13 athletes, both girls and boys. The Wolverines started off their season in November and put in a lot of hours to get their routine performance ready for their first competition in January.

This season, the team held practices up to five times a week. The competition cheerleaders also cheered at a basketball game every week. The Wolverines have skills clinics throughout their season with outside coaches to help clean up their routine before they hit the competition mats. It takes a lot of time and dedication to get competition-ready.

Head Coach Dodge has always put an immense amount of time into the high school cheerleading program. Senior Corey Campbell said, “Kim is always at all of our practices and competitions regardless of what is happening in her personal life. She puts an enormous amount of time and effort into the program to help us achieve our goals and make sure that we are having fun while doing so.”

While the demands of cheerleading may be great, the rewards are well worth it. At the Wolverines’ first competition of the season this year, MVC’s on Jan. 15, the team finished fourth. Then, in regionals on Jan. 27, the team finished fourth out of eight teams, qualifying it to compete at states for the third straight year. The team traveled to the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor for states this year, where the Wolverines took eighth place. The following day, the cheerleaders competed at the Maine State Cheer Challenge at the Augusta Civic Center and walked away with a first place finish to end their season.

At the end of the season, not only do the athletes on the team walk away with these achievements, they also leave the season with new friendships. Freshman Chrissy Easter said this season was the closest she has ever felt with a sports team. “Everyone was super welcoming ... and being on the team this year was a really good experience.”

When asked how she felt about the team, sophomore Shannon James said, “This team is more than a family, it’s greater than any other sport because everyone is truly needed, wanted, and loved.” Senior August Moore said, “The cheering programs in Wiscasset have been so amazing. All of the teams support each other and the younger kids look up to the older kids and that creates such a great bond with our whole cheer family. I started in sixth grade and now I’m a senior and I’m going to miss it so much.” The four seniors on the team are thankful for what the program has offered them throughout their years of cheering and are very proud of the team’s accomplishments this season. 

The cheerleaders will celebrate their season with an awards ceremony for the team, friends and family in March.