Business as usual for Butler
Tornado cheerleaders aim at PIAA title

By John Enrietto 
Eagle Sports Editor 

BUTLER TWP — There is a new coach in charge — not that it matters. 
For the Butler High School competitive cheerleading squad, it's business as usual. 
The Golden Tornado recently won their regional qualifier at Slippery Rock University and will be headed for the UCA Nationals in Orlando, Fla., in February. 
Before that, they have the WPIAL meet Jan. 9 at Hempfield, followed by the PIAA meet Jan. 22-23 in Hershey. 
“The WPIAL's are what we're focused on right now,” senior Annie Codispot said. “It's one step at a time. 
“But the gold medal at states? Yes, we need that.” 
Butler is the only competitive cheerleading program in the state to medal in each of the first three years the PIAA had a tournament in the sport. The Golden Tornado won the first-ever PIAA gold medal in 2013, then finished second to Pine-Richland and Johnstown the past two years. 
Marianne Miller, Butler's seventh grade coach last year, has taken on the duties as varsity coach this season. Kylie Geagan is her assistant and Nicole Nea, last year's head coach, occasionally helps out. 
“It's a huge time commitment, for the girls and the coaches,” Miller said. “Tryouts are in April, we start practicing in May and keep going from there.” 
The cheerleaders take tumbling classes through November. Now they practice twice a week in addition to cheering at basketball games. 
Jillian Tilko, one of four seniors on the squad, was a gymnast through ninth grade before switching to competitive cheering. 
“I don't regret it at all,” Tilko said. “We're like a family here. The bonds you form with the other girls are incredible.” 
Alex Slomers and Jensen Wehrli are the other seniors on the squad. Slomers has been a cheerleader since first grade. Wehrli only joined the competitive team two years ago. 
“When I was a little girl, my baby-sitter was a cheerleader,” Wehrli said. “We used to make up little cheers together and it was so much fun. That got me started. I became a Midget cheerleader for Meridian. 
“I've been a cheerleader all along and I've been good friends with Annie, Alex and Jillian. They talked me into giving it a try and I love it.” 
Three of the four Butler seniors are holding down jobs along with their school work and cheerleading activities. All four plan to extend their cheerleading careers into college. 
Slomers, a competitive cheerleader for four years, hopes to make the squad at the University of Kentucky and major in the business field. 
“It's hard ... you just have to do it,” she said of juggling her time in high school. “I spend a lot of late nights doing homework. When you want something bad enough, you find a way to make it work. 
“Cheerleading allows me to show my talents. I love the adrenalin from performing in front of a crowd and passing things down to the younger girls.” 
The success of Butler competitive cheering has gone on for years, through different coaches and generations of athletes. The program has qualified for UCA Nationals more than 20 years in a row and has placed among the top 10 in the country on a number of occasions. 
Butler's current crop of cheerleaders feel no pressure, however. 
“It's more of a pride thing,” Tilko said. “We've had such good teams in Butler for so long. We just want to keep the tradition going.” 
“It can be stressful,” admitted Codispot, who wants to go into nursing as a career. “But you take on a role within a team and accomplish something new, year after year. Being a part of this? I wouldn't trade it for anything.” 
This year's team includes juniors Taylor Fisher and Paige Williams, sophomores Nina Hindman, Morgan Constantino, Olivia Young, Amber Rivers, Maddy Dupe and Alyssia Mazzanti, freshmen Hayley Strengari, Jenna Williams and Emily Livermore, eighth-grader Angela Haley. 
The competitive routine Butler will perform at the WPIAL, PIAA and national meet is one and the same. It last two minutes and 30 seconds. The team runs through it five or six times a practice, two or three days a week, for weeks. 
“Do we ever get tired of it? Not at all,” Codispot said. “We can always do it better. The challenge is always there.” 
This past summer, Butler did a choreography camp in addition to its regular training and workouts. 
“The bar is pretty high here,” Miller admitted. 
And Butler's girls want to reach it — then raise it a little more