Homecoming night on Oct. 4 was something the Montgomery County football cheerleading team will never forget.

First, one of the cheerleaders was crowned homecoming queen. Then, the cheerleaders saw their football team snap a three-game losing streak with a win over Mark Twain.

“That was very exciting,” said Rebecca Schulze, who was voted homecoming queen.

Homecoming was the biggest highlight of the 2024 season for the cheerleading squad, which is composed of Schulze, seniors Gabby Arens and Hannah Blake, juniors Brianna Stierlin and Emma Stephenson and freshmen Haley Englemann and Kaylee Dillard and is coached by Madelyn Woods.

“Our dance went good,” Arens said. “We won our game. Our cheer block was beautiful.”

The squad is hoping for more good things next season since it is losing Arens, Schulze and Blake to graduation.

“I think they’re going to do amazing,” Schulze said. “We’re passing it down to two amazing juniors, Brianna and Emma. We’re so proud of them.”

Arens, Schulze and Blake and manager Abby Arens were honored before the Wildcats’ home finale against Wright City on Oct. 18. Arens and Schulze joined the cheerleading team when they were freshmen, while Blake started cheering on football when she was a sophomore.

Gabby Arens has been cheering for football since middle school. She has seven years of cheerleading experience.

“It was always something I do,” said Arens, who plans to go to Paul Mitchell Cosmetology School next year. “Even when I was in elementary school, I did the mini-cheer camps and I loved it. I knew I wanted to do that whenever I got older.”

In the 2021 season, Arens and Schulze were part of a large cheerleading team that had 16 members. Schulze said she immediately got hooked with cheerleading when she joined the squad in her freshman year.

“I wasn’t really good at any other sport, so I stuck with cheerleading and it kind of built me a family,” said Schulze, who plans to attend St. Charles Community College next year. “I’m so thankful that I got to spend every single year that I cheered with Gabby.”

Blake said she enjoyed her three years with the cheerleading team. When she came out in her sophomore year, she was one of 10 cheerleaders.

“It’s amazing,” said Blake, who plans to attend the University of Missouri-Columbia next year. “You grow so much, especially in your skills and as a person with your coaches and teammates. You really create a strong bond and it’s sad to see it go at the end.”