BOZEMAN — Last July, Bozeman Gallatin cheerleader Anna Cornwall attained All-America status allowing her to perform in next week’s Pearl Harbor Day parade in Honolulu, Hawaii.
After attending a Universal Cheerleaders Association camp in Missoula this past July, Cornwall performed a dance and a cheer in front of hundreds of kids from around the state. From that she was selected as one of the few from the camp to earn the prestigious honor.
“I was a little nervous before because it was in front of the whole camp, so I hadn't really done something like that before,” Cornwall said. “I was at first stressed about it but I was confident in my abilities.”
For Gallatin cheer coach Logan Wearley, the UCA camps help grow the next crop of cheerleader hopefuls with camps all over the U.S. and for his squad, the Missoula camp was a tremendous growth opportunity.
“Those UCA camps really bring an opportunity people that enjoy cheer to come together and get to work and learn and just have fun together with a sport that they love,” Wearley mentioned.
Cornwall, now a sophomore, only began her love for cheer starting in 7th grade. Fast forward to now, she’s already a captain on the Gallatin team.
“I grew up with a dance background, so it was kind of something similar, but it was still something just like really fun for me,” Cornwall explained. “I love sports, so I loved being able to go to all the games and cheer people on.”
As for her future in the sport, she wants to compete at the next level in college.
“I would love to cheer in college. I definitely have some things to work on too because it is a different level than high school is, but I'd love to be able to cheer in college.
On Wednesday night, Coach Wearley brought the Gallatin cheer team to a Montana State women’s basketball game to see what collegiate cheer looks like to give not just Cornwal,l but the whole team a chance to see what competitive cheer looks like at the next level.
“I want to give these kids an experience and be able to say, ‘Hey, you can do this at the collegiate level; here's what they do.’”
Cornwall heads to Hawaii this Friday with preparations for the Pearl Harbor Day parade occurring throughout next week with the main performance on December 7th. She’ll have the chance to meet other All-Americans from across the country.
