Cheer girls named All-State, team earns academic honors
IMAGE / Ms. Stephanie Vanwagoner
Seniors Kassidy Krist (left) and Hailey Baltosser earned second and first team All-State honors, respectively, in Division 2 cheer.
Three cheer athletes earned All-State honors when the Competitive Cheer Coaches Association of Michigan recently announced its All-State selections.
Senior Hailey Baltosser earned first team All-State honors in Division 2.
Baltosser said she was “extremely honored” to receive the award and said she “was thinking about how all my hard work over the last four years paid off.”
“I also was thinking how it was a great way to end my last season,” she said.
Senior Kassidy Krist earned second team All-State.
Krist said that she could not believe her coach nominated her for the award.
After being honored, she said, “I was very surprised and didn’t expect it.”
All my hard work paid off, and I am thankful that I am able to end my athletic career in this way.
— Kassidy Krist, senior
Besides the CCAM distinction, Krist was also named the Flint Metro League Scholar Athlete of the Month for March.
“I am very honored to be the athlete of the month of March,” Krist said. “All my hard work paid off, and I am thankful that I am able to end my athletic career in this way.”
In addition, senior Kaitlyn Alburtus was recognized with an All-State honorable mention distinction.
Girls who win the awards have been recognized for their abilities. For Kearsley, the team’s coaches watch video of the team’s rounds multiple times to look for facials, tightness, floor mobility, and other various categories.
The coaches then scores the girls, and its these scores that help the coaches decide who to nominate for these awards.
In addition to the team’s three girls, the cheer team, as a whole, earned Academic All-State honorable mention for having a team GPA of 3.32.
Six girls also earned Academic All-State as individuals: Baltosser, Krist, junior Kaylee Hill, junior Madison Jordan, sophomore Claudia Moore, and freshman Alyssa Smith.
I will miss the feeling that I get at competitions before going out on the mat.
— Hailey Baltosser, senior
With the announcement of All-State selections finalizing the cheer season, Baltosser must now say goodbye to cheer.
“I will miss the feeling that I get at competitions before going out on the mat,” Baltosser said. “I don’t think anything will ever replace that feeling.”
Krist will also miss the sport, as well as her friends.
“I will miss being with my best friends everyday after school and competing on the mat in front of all my friends and family,” Krist said. “I will also miss the feeling that I had head to toe that I had when they announced we have won it all.”
Birthday: December 28, 1999
Extracurricular activities: Work
Hobbies: Laughing, coloring, and being imperfect.
Plans after high school: Go...
