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Cheerleaders usually cheer for their school and their schools' teams.
On Thursday, however, the Edgewood Middle School cheerleaders were on the receiving end of the good cheer at an all-school pep rally.
The 20-member all-girl squad qualified to compete at the national cheerleading competition this weekend.
At 1 a.m. today, the Edgewood Middle School cheerleaders began their trek to Disney World, in Florida, to compete at nationals.
According to EMS Principal JoElla Smyth, northern Indiana has never had a middle school group make the trip to compete at the national level. No northern Indiana cheerleading group ever has competed at nationals in the competition's history.
At the pep rally, she said, "Who would have thought Edgewood Middle School, in small-town Warsaw, Indiana, would create a cheerleading program that could compete at the national level?"
Warsaw Community Church pastor Dennis Wilson was the guest speaker at Thursday's pep session. He told the girls, "I'm proud of each and every one of you" for accomplishing something no one else in northern Indiana did. The girls will be ambassadors of themselves, their school, the community, Indiana and the United States.
As audiences back home watch the teams compete on ESPN, Wilson told the girls, "I want you to savor the weekend because you will remember this forever."
And the girls, he said, should not doubt themselves.
"You do belong," he said. "You've earned this title, you've earned the right."
The EMS cheer team will compete at 9 a.m. Saturday. If they qualify for finals, they will compete again at 4 or 5 p.m.
Team coach Carley Kleinhans said after the pep session, "They don't really realize how big it really is."
She said they are excited and overwhelmed and she and co-coach Laura Maxson are trying to keep the girls calm but excited.
Eighth-grade cheerleader Ashley Wilson said the team started out the year practicing two times a week. As the competition drew closer, the practices became more frequent and more difficult.
"It's a dream come true," she said. And she's looking forward to "being able to compete against harder teams I've never competed against before."
Members of the team are: Katie Caldwell, Olivia Cook, Brandi Gill, Cassie Haecker, Emily Kleinhans, Hanna Klondaris, Katie Klug, Caitlin Miclot, Adele Nelson, Naima Perry, Anne Quella, Ashley Ronk, Lindsay Bruner, Katie Marose, Britni Mullins, Ali Reith, Hilary Shepherd, Brenna Staton, Taylor Stahly and Ashley Wilson.
