Saturday evening, college football games without cheerleaders are like a cup of soda without ice. Over the years cheerleaders have been viewed as cute girls in little skirts and nothing more.
Bakersfield College cheerleaders break the mold. The BC cheerleading squad has 10 members.
Coach Becki Whitson says, “The BC cheer team is a diverse and dedicated group of ladies. The team is hard working and a real pleasure to be a part of.”
This year, only two of last year’s members return to lead the cheer team. Layne Costerisan and Crystal Roberts, both sophomores
While all the team members contribute to this team’s success, freshman Kaylene Perez, a psychology major with 3.4 GPA, travels to BC from Arvin.
However, by far the one cheerleader who stands out is freshman Leanna Rhodes. She not only comes in with a 3.8 GPA, she comes to school from Tehachapi.
She suffers from diabetes and must give herself a shot every four hours. She simply says of her diabetes, “I accept it.” Rhodes’ goals are to graduate with a 4.0 and go on to the USC and major in business.
Freshmen Toni Martinez, Tawnie Aldridge, Milyssa Collazo, Amber Estrada, Ricci Jacobs, Melissa Kerr and Kimberly Popoy make up the rest of the squad.
Not only do they perform at football games, but in different ways help out or cheer the other sports like volleyball, basketball, wrestling and golf. In addition, they even do several community functions.
The most recent community function that they have participated in is the Alumni Association barbecue at Stramler Park last month.
The girls also competed in the USA College Cheer Camp this past summer where the team won the “Overall Superior Rating” plaque, “Excellent Stunt Rating,” “Superior Dance Rating” and “Superior Cheer Rating.”
In addition, individually Costerisan, Estrada and Martinez were each selected as three of the 30 spirit star finalists from 600 college cheerleaders.