Hollister’s Jennifer Rainey makes Fresno spirit squad
Jennifer Rainey will be heading to California State University,
Fresno in the fall and she is making sure to take one thing with
her
– team spirit.
The recent San Benito High School graduate tried out for the
college spirit squad more than a month ago and made the cut. The
Baler cheered on the high school team her sophomore and senior
years, but started her career long before that.
Hollister’s Jennifer Rainey makes Fresno spirit squad
Jennifer Rainey will be heading to California State University, Fresno in the fall and she is making sure to take one thing with her – team spirit.
The recent San Benito High School graduate tried out for the college spirit squad more than a month ago and made the cut. The Baler cheered on the high school team her sophomore and senior years, but started her career long before that.
She has cheered for “probably 12 years,” she said. She started with Pop Warner.
“My mom put me in Pop Warner,” she said.
When she looked at colleges, she said finding a good cheer team was a priority.
“It was something I wanted to do,” she said.
The college squad has 30 cheerleaders and six alternates. Unlike high school squads, it isn’t broken down into freshman, junior varsity and varsity teams. Rainey had to compete against other incoming freshman and upperclassmen who had already competed with the team. Rainey estimated at least 70 girls turned out for the April 24-25 tryout session, all decked out in black shorts, a full-length white top and cheer shoes, with their hair pulled back.
“It was intense. We had to learn a lot of stuff. We had to have good tumbling and good jumps to make the team,” she said. “I wouldn’t say it was necessarily harder, but there was a lot of competition because there were a lot of good girls trying out.”
Rainey has already been to one practice with the team since they have a golf tournament this summer. She will practice about once a month, and then regular practices will begin in August.
The cheerleader plans to major in physical therapy at Fresno, and she said she is sure she will be able to handle the challenge of cheer and classes.
“I’ve done it in high school,” she said. “I realize it will be a lot more studying, but I think I will be able to manage it.”
She is most looking forward to cheering for the football games.
“The stadium is really big,” Rainey said. “It is a way bigger crowd than our high school.”
