During August through October, girls aged 6-13 take part in the OMYFA cheerleading competition. These hard-working athletes spend countless hours practicing and getting better at their two routines: cheer and dance. The competition is split up by age groups to make sure it’s fair for everyone.
The Flag division includes 1st and 2nd graders who don’t officially compete for rankings, but they still get to go on the mats and show off the skills and routines they have been working on all season. This gives our youngest athletes a chance to perform and helps them feel more confident. They also prepare to compete in their first year as a freshman.
The Freshman division has 3rd and 4th-grade students who compete against 13 other teams for first place. During the 2025 season, this talented group got 5th place in both cheer and dance, showing good teamwork and skill improvement. They worked countless hours practicing. Great job, ladies!
The JV (Junior Varsity) division is made up of 5th and 6th-grade students. These athletes finished their season with great results: 4th place in cheer and an amazing 1st place finish in dance! This first-place win in dance shows how much hard work these young ladies put into their training.
Finally, the Varsity division has our most experienced competitors, made up of 7th and 8th-grade students. This top group ended their season with incredible results, earning 2nd place in cheer and winning 1st place in dance! Their awesome performance shows all the years of training and hard work they put into the sport.
Dedicated junior and assistant cheer coaches from Lamphere High School help the success of these programs. The Flag team is coached by Sydney Hedges and Rebecca Dolata, who teach the basics to our youngest athletes. Destiny Palussen coaches the Freshman division, helping 3rd and 4th-graders get better at competing. The JV team is led by Ellie Rogensues, who has done a great job since they won the dance category. Finally, the Varsity team works with two coaches: Lacey Crouch and Payton Harvey, whose coaching helped lead the team to their amazing second and first-place finishes. These 6 amazing junior coaches spend their time at their own practices, then make their way to the Wolverines’ practice. They are showing real sportsmanship with both teams!
We also have our head coach of varsity in the Madison Heights Wolverines in the building as well! Tabtetha Harvey. And in the office, we have one of our varsity assistant coaches, Rebecca Crouch.
Thank you, thank you for your dedication to lead these girls to victory.
I interviewed Lacey Crouch and Payton Harvey, asking them How do you think the girls have grown from last year to this year?
Lacey Crouch: “ I think they have more passion, they didn’t give up when they had off practices, they came in the next one ready to work even harder. When I gave them challenging material, they persevered and challenged themselves to work harder to make my vision come together.”
Payton Harvey: “ I think the girls care more this year, they have more fire. What drove them was that most of the varsity team was 2nd year varsity girls, and they wanted to end their career as a MHW cheerleader with a 1st place finish.”
I am so proud of the Wolverines and how the program has grown in one year. It is amazing! I can’t wait to see what next year brings and what these incredible girls can accomplish together!
