Wiscasset Middle High School senior Anna Strozier just learned she will be part of the next Maine Shrine Lobster Bowl Classic, including a week's training camp at Central Maine Community College in Auburn, a game eve banquet and the July 19 game.

Strozier knows she will make new friends that week. Cheering has given her that, and confidence, she and mother Shelley Strozier said in a phone interview Feb. 19. They shared their excitement for the honor of Anna's being picked, the chance to help raise funds for the program's cause, and for Anna to get to cheer one more time. She is considering studying radiology at Southern Maine Community College and expects she would not have time to cheer, although she would like to assistant coach at some point. 

She has cheered with Morse High School all four years of high school. Her mother explained, it is a co-op team, and Anna "has thrived in the Morse program, (as) a two-time captain and proven leader in both schools."

"This remarkable achievement is a testament to your hard work, dedication, and the talent you have demonstrated throughout your high school athletic career," reads the letter the teen's mother shared from Maine Shrine Lobster Bowl Classic. According to the letter, the event celebrates "talent, teamwork and community spirit," has over 140 athletes from 60-plus high school programs and, over three and a half decades, has given nearly $750,000 to Shriner's Children's Hospital.

Of cheering, Anna Strozier said, "I just love it. It's a great sport, and I love the people that I'm on a team with, and it's just a big family. (Cheering's) definitely made me more confident. I make friends wherever I go. That's one of the reasons I'm so excited for the Lobster Bowl. I'm excited to make a bunch of friends."

Shelley Strozier has "absolutely" seen cheering build her daughter's confidence. "She's a leader in both school systems on the mat and off .. involved in school activities and is a vocal advocate for folks ... Anna's going to thrive wherever she ends up. She's definitely one of a kind (and) can adapt to any population that she's around."

And as fans may be familiar, Anna Strozier, 18, loves dyeing her hair; she will if she can for the Lobster Bowl. "Right now I'm dyeing it red," she said laughing.

How does her mother feel about all the dyeing? "After the first three times, it was OK. It's fine," Shelley said. "She certainly has a good knack for it."