Goodbye Cheer By Chelsea Lopez

It all started on Friday, March 13, 2020. Hearing everyone in the beginning of the year saying how 2020 was “The year”. So many students, athletes, staff, teachers, but most importantly seniors, were so devastated hearing that their senior year would be canceled completely. Then we all got an email from our principal, saying we wouldn't have school due to the fact of the coronavirus and how we had some cases in New Mexico. Everyone thought at first it would only be a week that we would miss or so. They ended up wrong and it ended up taking away the entire school year left, including graduation, all sports in season, and most importantly our education.

Sports were very important to all student athletes especially to the Atrisco cheerleaders. The varsity cheer team had the most seniors from all sports with that being 18, amazing, hardworking, incredible, and most definitely the best at coming together and having great grades and still being able to support all sports and functions at Atrisco. Just imagine how destroyed the seniors on the cheer team felt knowing it was their last year being able to perform one last time on those state mats. All of them were looking forward, counting everyday to reach March 28, 2020, where they could perform one last time their amazing routine. This year Atrisco’s cheer team was really outstanding, with a full tumbling squad, and with their incredible coaches who managed to come up with the best, and truly the best routine they have had throughout all cheer years.

Interviewing some seniors from the cheer team and asking them two meaningful questions gave me similar but unique and beautiful responses. Asking them “What their senior year meant for them in cheer, and how did the coronavirus affect them personally as that being their last year in high school.” Aalyiah Bailey, a senior stated “Being a senior and knowing that it was cut off early was so heartbreaking to know that we didn't get a last chance to make a change in our school's history for cheer. We weren't quite supported from our school which made it hard for us through the years. Trying to be state champs and setting a high standard for a school and finally being able to have a title meant so much for me and the other seniors. We felt something different with this 2019 to 2020 group. We felt the spark that maybe this is our year. This group was outstanding and very skillful. It does suck on the other hand that I will most likely won't get a Last Prom and to be able to achieve my goal and walking the line happy and proud.” Another senior, Destiny Chavez stated, “The coronavirus has affected me in many different ways but one that truly broke my heart was that I couldn't perform one last time with my family and doing something we all loved. We couldn't go out there and put our hearts into the amazing routine we got. As this was my last year cheering in high school I won't ever forget the Blood, Sweat & Tears that we all put on the mat, I will cherish our memories forever and we will always be a family no matter what happened.” A similar but different in its own way interview that another senior, Evan Estrada stated was, “For me senior year was very emotional because I'm saying goodbye to a place I spent four long hard years at along with saying bye to many friends and opportunities. Being a state runner-up in my junior year lit a fire in me to work extra hard to redeem myself and take State my senior year. Due to the coronavirus, this sickness took away the opportunity for me along with my teammates and other cheerleaders within the state. It took away our chance to take State and show the whole state what we worked all year for, and took away a lot of seniors last time performing on the mats.”

All of these emotional and significant responses give you an idea of how much their senior year meant for them, and how much harder they had to work to accomplish being a student athlete. Not only did they get their senior cheer season taken away but they also lost the memories they would have been able to make during the time left of their last year being in high school.