For junior competitive cheerleader Leah Moeller, switching from the flier role in her freshman year to the base position in her sophomore year affected her outlook on the sport.

“Although changing positions did not sit right with me – since I was a flier from second grade up until my freshman year – I knew I needed to step up and show versatility to the underclassmen,” Moeller said.

She now truly enjoys the base position and has become a leader on the team.

Moeller said one of her most memorable cheer moments was when she got to observe other skilled teams while at the cheer nationals.

“My favorite cheer memories are when we go to the parks at nationals and being able to watch really good teams,” Moeller said.

For Moeller, competing in the national competition is the result of many years of hard work. She started cheerleading for fun in second grade. 

“It seemed fun and something that could keep me on my feet as a kid,” Moeller said.

Now, as a third-year cheer team member, Moeller credits Baldwin Coach Dena Mihalsky as her greatest influence.

“My coach has always pushed me to do my best and makes sure I’m reaching the furthest of my abilities,” Moeller said.

Senior Grace Iaquinta has cheered on the team alongside Moeller for three years and has watched her grow as both a person and a cheerleader.

“She is determined, hard-working, and she always gives her best effort on each of her stunts. Whenever there is a problem, she always tries to fix it, and she acknowledges when she makes mistakes,” Iaquinta said.

Senior Carly Birks agrees that Moeller is an emerging leader on the team this year.

“She is really helpful, good at taking corrections, and she is always willing to help other members of the team improve. She loves to give tips to people, especially the younger cheerleaders,” Birks said.

Moeller has not rested on her laurels. She has lofty goals for the team this cheer season.

“This year, I want the team to make it to the final round at nationals. It’s a big goal, but I think we can do it,” Moeller said.

A season highlight so far for Moeller was the WPIALs competition, which was held at a new high school this year.

“I was most excited about competing at Chartiers Valley instead of Hempfield for WPIALs, since it was a new environment and somewhere the team had not competed yet,” Moeller said.  

The team was successful in the competition and ended up coming in second in WPIALs, Moeller said.