These squads work hard to cheer their teams to victory. In the case of the Weatherford High School cheerleading program, they are doing plenty of winning on their own under the direction of coach Casey Watson-Gardiner.
Their resume’ in recent years includes consistently placing in the top of the University Interscholastic League State Spirit Championship, bringing home two bronze medals and a gold medal for a state championship in 2025.
They capped 2025 by winning a gold medal and national championship at the National Cheerleading Association.
“Since I have been fortunate enough to work with the program, our history has been one of incredible athletes who remain dedicated to building and maintaining a legacy of success and hope to continue making our school, our district, and our community proud,” Watson-Gardiner said.
Watson-Gardiner has been at Weatherford eight years coaching varsity and competition cheer. She said much of the success stems from a strong beginning in middle school, led by Chad Satcher at Tison and Hall Middle Schools.
Building a solid foundation at the middle schools is imperative to the success at the high school level. We appreciate all of the hard work he puts in to ready them to try out for us at the high school,” Watson-Gardiner said. “The successes that we have earned over the past several years can be attributed to the amazing support we receive from our WISD Athletics Department, our campus admin, our cheer families, and honestly just having the most hard working, dedicated, and focused athletes any coach could wish for.”
The WHS squad competes largely in Gameday, which is what the name implies, cheering as they would at a game.
“In the past we have had athletes that compete outside of school in all-star cheer programs, but the differences between all star and Gameday are vast,” Watson-Gardiner said. “Some of the skills translate between the two, but for the most part Gameday is about leading the crowd and exhibiting technical excellence.”
Being part of such a program creates lifelong memories for the participants, not only for the success, but also for the camaraderie and discipline, as exemplified by captains Ashjyn Woody and Emma Brown.
“Being part of such a wonderful program has been an absolute privilege. We both have loved getting to lead our team to be a part of the legacy Weatherford Cheer has left,” Woody said.
Brown added, “The success we have experienced has our time on the team indescribable, but it’s the day-to-day work that makes it truly worth it. We could not have asked for a better team and program to get the chance to captain.”
Watson-Gardiner noted that not only are the cheerleaders learning their routines to perfection, they are also strong in the classroom. They ended this year’s season with five athletes earning the distinction of academic all-state.
“Our cheerleaders strive to be overachievers in competitions and in the classroom,” she said.
Now the program looks ahead to the 2026-27 school year, with a May camp, practices all June, and back on the sidelines in August. Tryouts were held in March and Watson-Gardiner is excited with talent for the coming season.
“The teams and program look very promising for next year!” she exclaimed.
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