For Bristow junior Abbie Brewer, cheerleading is more than just routines and ribbons—it’s about grit, teamwork, and pride in representing her school. “When I step on the mat, I have to be locked in and I cannot be selfish because my team is depending on me,” Brewer said. “If even one of us isn’t locked in, mistakes can happen and I feel too responsible to be that guy. Sometimes I get kicked in the face, but I just keep going and ignore pain because I am 100% committed to my team.”
That determination has carried Brewer and her teammates through an impressive season. “Leading up to 4A State Cheer competition, we won Regionals and really felt that winning state this year was a possibility,” she said. “Going into state, we were ahead of all the schools we would be competing against, and at State we performed our personal best but came out State Runner-Up for the third year in a row. Although we were disappointed, we are super focused on our new competition, Stunt Games. Now that we have experience, we are working as hard as we can to get a State Title in that competition because we feel like we deserve it.”
Brewer says the team’s greatest strength is their unity under pressure. “Our team’s biggest strength is focusing on the next competition while ignoring personal conflicts. When we are at practice, we are unified,” she said. That unity has also helped them improve key areas this year. “Our biggest improvement is stunting and tumbling,” she added. “The week after winning State Runner-Up, several of us went to tumbling on our own time so that we would be ready for Stunt Competition.”
Brewer’s personal drive goes beyond the mat. “I want to be a State Champion Cheerleader for Bristow Varsity Cheer so that I can continue the legacy my older cousins started here and prove to the boys in our town that we are deserving of respect,” she said.
For Brewer, cheer is about legacy, kindness, and passion. “My favorite memory in my Bristow Varsity Cheer uniform comes from this season at state,” she said. “Stepping off of the mat, KNOWING we did our personal best and hit every single thing was a feeling I can’t describe.”
