Isaac James, Staff Writer for The Powderhorn

Watauga Athletics has seen a multitude of successes in the 2025-26 school year. Finalists and champions in many sports have headlined what is only the beginning of a historic year for Watauga sports. Right alongside many of these successes has been the cheer team. With their strong spirit of togetherness, cheer has been an outlet for many to be a part of a close-knit community.  

“We've been together as a team since May, so we've spent a lot of time together; ups, downs, and everything in between,” said senior Brecken Sauthoff. “It would be hard to have a team together as long as ours has without it feeling connected. “ 

Being so team-oriented, many of the moves in cheer involve difficult and impressive team coordination and dexterity. In cheer, “stunting” is when cheerleaders hoist one of their own atop themselves and hold their legs while they perform any number of different moves. 

“I really enjoy stunting because cheerleading isn't an individual sport. It requires multiple people to be successful,” said Sauthoff. “Stunting is my favorite because it's an exciting way to perform while working well with others in communication, physicality, and teamwork.”

The cheer team had the opportunity to accompany the Watauga football team on their huge triumphs this year. For Watauga Cheer, traveling and cheering alongside the state champions made for a truly exciting and novel experience. 

“It was so incredible to cheer and perform during the football team's big successes,” said Sauthoff. “None of us thought that our team from the mountains of Western North Carolina would go on to win the State Championship title, and for that, we were very grateful that we had the opportunity to cheer on our team.”