Smiling and waving, the Whitman cheerleaders soar through the air, chanting “we got spirit” as fans shuffle to their seats for the big game. While the cheerleaders devote much of their time to pumping up the crowd, football games are not the only competitions they are focused on.The team is determined to win the MCPS County Championships Nov. 12 for the second year in a row.

Football games give the team an opportunity to try new stunts in front of a crowd, without the stress of perfecting each move the first time.

“We do a lot of the same stunts at games that are going to be in our routine,” junior Amanda Erdman said. “During games, we get breaks and we’re only doing one stunt at a time, so we get to stand for a while. But during competition, it’s two minutes of just stunting, like jumps and tumbling, so it’s more crazy.”

All Montgomery County school cheerleading teams participate in the Nov. 12 competition, with each team competing only against others in the same division. The Vikings will be facing off against their division three competitors again this year.

This year’s goal is to place in the top two in order to advance to the next division; to achieve this the team plans to train harder than ever, captain Megan McMorran said.

“We are making sure that we are stronger and tighter than we have ever been before,” McMorran said. “Our coach drills us to make sure we are all in sync and look our best.”

While hard work and strong skills are necessary, without trust, little can be accomplished on a cheer team.

“Every athlete is used at every given moment,” coach Kristi McAleese said. “There is a high level of trust and dedication that is expected from the team. When the team is at practice, it is a constant on the go. They lift people, which is not easy. However, the team does a great job making it look easy.”

With a repeat championship on their minds, the team practices two hours per day, four to five times per week, learning new routines and perfecting difficult stunts. But when practices or stunts get tough, McAleese reassures her team that the work will pay off at counties.

“In practice I always remind them: the harder you push yourself when no one is looking, the easier it will be when they are,” McAleese said.

Aside from counties, the team plans to attend two other cheer competitions this year.

The first of the two competitions is typically hosted by Whitman, and will take place Oct. 29. The team hopes to use this competition as a way to perfect their routine and get comfortable in front of a crowd, captain Isabella Richey said.

“We invite other high school cheer teams to come just to show off their skills and because that competition is so close to our actual county competition,” Richey said. “It’s everything we would do at counties and we’re doing it in front of other cheer teams and in front of a crowd, but it isn’t as serious as counties.”

The final competition acts as an exclamation point to the long season and offers insight into the routines of other high caliber teams. That competition is hosted at the University of Maryland after the county championships.

“It’s towards the end of our season so we just brush up on our routine and go to show off our skills to other teams that are in different divisions, as well as performing against all-star cheerleading teams,” Richey said.

Though most students only see cheer routines at games, McMorran said the captains are hoping to draw more fans to county championships.

“There is an award for the team that has the most people in their section filled,” she said. “We really want to win it this year to show everyone that we are Whitman and we’ve got a lot of pride.”