Malta takes silver

The Malta Cheerleaders not only participated in their first competition, CheerFest last weekend in Lewistown, the team was able to tie for second in the Class B Cheer Team category.

"It's such a blessing to bring home some hardware for cheerleading," Malta Cheerleader Head Coach Timberlee Pankratz said. "I'm incredibly proud of what the girls accomplished. They worked extremely hard to get that second place trophy."

The event took place at Fergus High School, with 15 other teams present, ranging from Class AA to Class C.

Roundup won the Class B Crown. Malta and Lincoln County tied for second place. The moment Malta received their placing was surreal for the first year cheer coach.

"I couldn't wipe the smiles off their faces, or the happy tears off mine," Coach Pankratz said. "We went to the competition with a goal. We knew there were other squads that have been there before and were really good."

Malta did not know what to expect when stepping into the Fergus Gymnasium, but they kept an open mind.

"I think the girls were looking for more of a learning experience than anything so we could grow from this year," Coach Pankratz said. "When they awarded Malta with the second place trophy, the girls' mouths dropped open. They were shocked."

Though they took second unexpectedly, the team still learned ways they could improve for next year's competition. It's possible that the team might look into using male cheerleaders.

"We were also one of the only squads without stunt guys, which makes a huge difference," Coach Pankratz said. "Now we know what is expected at a cheer competition and plan on making improvements on what we lacked according to the score sheets."

The team was nearly without one of it's' flyers who nearly met a season ending injury at State on Saturday, March 11.

"During our halftime performance at the boys' championship game on Saturday Devyn's (Salsbery) basket toss went a little sideways and her back landed on Daphne's (Johnson) head," Coach Pankratz said.

Coach Pankratz called the trainers to check on both Johnson and Salsbery.

"She informed me that Devyn hyper extended her back when she hit Daphne's head, resulting in a painful sprain in her lower back," Coach Pankratz said. "Because it was just a muscle injury, she spent the week resting up and was able to attend and participate in CheerFest."

CheerFest featured a total of 14 events, which included High School Dance Team, Mascot, Jump-Off – which Daphne Johnson, Shelby Jones, Erika Nagy, Adessa Judd, Devyn Salsbery, Jordan Markuson and Bonnie Jones participated in – as well as Tumble-Off which Judd also entered.

Tumbling proved to be a factor in Malta's routine, a motion that Judd reintroduced to Malta's routine last season.

"She (Judd) also teaches the tumbling class at city hall, something newer to the community and I believe it's becoming quite popular," Coach Pankratz said. "It definitely adds a visual to the whole routine and is really impressive. It takes a lot of physical strength to tumble and is a huge part of cheerleading. We're hoping to work on our tumbling skills more next season."