PRIOR LAKE, Minn. — Cheerleading these days is so much more than ponytails and short skirts. Your Laker cheerleaders (Prior Lake High School) spend a minimum of eight hours a week in the gym at practice and their season typically runs from May through early February. These girls are incredible athletes who make amazingly difficult skills appear easy. You lift weights? Our athletes lift people!

The varsity team walked away with championships in two divisions, Traditional and Game Day, at the UCA National Cheerleading Championship in Florida last April. This was a first for Prior Lake High School. They were also the State Champions with their Traditional routine. All our teams consistently win their divisions each year at local competitions, and now, with national titles, Prior Lake is making waves in the cheerleading world.

The vast majority of our coaching staff cheered at the collegiate level, and many of them at the University of Minnesota. With each progressing year, we are seeing more Prior Lake athletes continue their cheerleading tenure at college.

With so much success, it’s no surprise that cheerleading is very popular in Prior Lake. Our high school houses our varsity, junior varsity, and middle school teams, while Prior Lake Athletics for Youth (P.L.A.Y.) encompasses three more competition teams and still more sideline cheerleaders.

Our program could not enjoy the success we have had without community support. We are so very grateful for the local businesses who have sponsored our teams. These sponsorships allow our cheerleaders to have the coaching, equipment, and experiences that create a memorable high school cheerleading career.

Our P.L.A.Y. cheerleaders love sharing Friday Night Lights with our varsity girls at P.L.A.Y. Night each season. With our high school and youth teams, Prior Lake has one of the largest cheerleading programs in the entire state of Minnesota. Our varsity squad loves cheering under the Friday Night Lights and having full bleachers this year means more than ever. All our teams are thrilled to launch into competition season with in-person comps. PLHS Cheer has a home competition on Saturday, December 4 where you can see these girls in action.

21-22 Varsity team members are: Brenna Keil, Carly Copeland, Ella Arbach, Ella Thorson, Kaylin Buckingham, Kendall Mattson, Kyla Nauertz, Kylee Gehrke, Lauren Domer, Lily Courteau, Lindsay Higgins, Lindsey Clark, Lydia Swenson, Mackenzie Henning, Madi Pickenpack, Morgan Erickson, Payton Soukup, Piper Morris, Sadie Kettelkamp, Stella Dileva, and Taylor Lolling.

“It’s been an honor and privilege to help lead the Prior Lake cheerleading program for the past seven years. The athletes in our program are not only incredibly talented, but they are some of the most outstanding young ladies I have ever met. They prove year after year, that with hard work, dedication, and teamwork, anything is possible. I’m excited for this upcoming season to see everything our teams will accomplish, all while making precious memories to last a lifetime,” said Head Coach Bridget Ortner.

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