By Susan Shinn
sshinn@salisburypost.com
Three young women from Rowan County have been named all-state cheerleaders. The 30-member group cheered last week at the East-West All-Stars basketball game in Greensboro.
Participating were Whitney Corriher and Sydney Humphrey, seniors at West Rowan High School, and Ashley Wagoner, a 2008 graduate of East Rowan High School.The young women were nominated by their coaches for all-region honors. Videos were sent to the North Carolina Cheerleading Coaches Association, which then narrowed down the contestants for live tryouts.
The all-state squad went to Greensboro for a five-day camp to learn routines for the basketball and football games, although they did not get to cheer at the football game because of inclement weather, said Judy Corriher, West’s cheerleading coach.”They did very well,” Corriher said. “I was very happy with their performance.
“You have a lot of ex-gymnasts switching over to cheerleading, and their tumbling skills are phenomenal. They had a lot of talent there.”
Whitney and Ashley received all-county honors. Whitney has been on the all-county squad for three years, Ashley for two, Corriher said. All three young women are scholar-athletes, she added.”It was fun to see how the best of the best could play together and compete,” Whitney said of her experience in Greensboro.
Even though there was a last-minute change in the routine because a cheerleader was injured, Whitney said, “everybody was patient and we got the job done. We did well.”
Whitney and Sydney have been part of the West varsity squad for three years. Whitney has been cheering since age 3.
“It was something where you get away from everything and get lost it in and have so much fun,” Whitney said. “It’s just part of my everyday life.”
She hasn’t yet decided whether she’ll cheer in college.
“If I’m gonna do it, I want to be dedicated and not half-hearted about it,” she said.