Morgan Williams stepped in to lead Oglethorpe County High School’s cheer program three years ago, determined to reshape its culture and trajectory by starting a competitive team.
Now, Williams and her athletes are looking to build on the momentum after finishing 16th in Class A Division I in its inaugural Game Day season.
“Cheer in OC was not a very competitive thing and was kind of frowned upon,” Williams said.
Oglethorpe County only had a sideline cheer team before, but in 2024, a Game Day competition team was added.
Game Day competition is different than traditional competitive cheer, focusing more on routines that are akin to what you would see at a football game.
Williams said a challenge the team faced was competing with many girls who had never competitively cheered before. Nonetheless, the team finished 16th out of 24 teams at state and was the second-highest finisher in its region.
When Williams took over the program without a competition team, she said cheer wasn’t respected in Oglethorpe County.
“I think a lot of people don’t look at cheer as a sport, and people just aren’t educated on cheer,” Williams said.
It wasn’t easy to get to this point, however.
Williams had to obtain a commercial driver’s license, so she could bus the team to away games and competitions.
Previously, the team was limited to only 14 girls so they could fit on an activity bus, due to the supply of bus drivers, Williams said.
“She goes to a lot of measures to make sure that we have what we need and the skills that we need to be successful,” junior Ariana Haley said about Williams.
Haley has been on the cheer team all three years with Williams as the head coach.
Sophomore Sara Myers, who was also on the team last year, found herself taking on a leadership role as a returner. She received the Patriot Award at the fall sports banquet, given out to the athlete who exemplifies what it means to be a Patriot through effort and leadership.
Myers said this season went a long way in changing the narrative about cheerleading.
“If we can show other people that our sport is just as hard and requires as much effort, and that we can make it to a state competition, then we require the same amount of respect,” Myers said.
The team also had individuals receive accolades for this season, as junior Kensie Brown was named a National Cheerleaders Association All-American and a Fellowship of Christian Athletes All-American.
Brown, who’s been cheering competitively since the sixth grade, said this year felt different than club teams.
“Going to school with all of these girls, the bonds are a lot stronger,” she said.
Ultimately, Williams said she’d like the team to compete in more traditional competitive cheer, but it has to start at the younger levels.
“The goal is to try to work with the rec department and the middle school to start building cheerleaders and the skill set early on,” Williams said.
Williams said she considered retiring from cheer after this season due to the time commitment, while also teaching and raising a family, but there’s more she wants to accomplish, even beyond the high school level.
“The ultimate goal is to build their skillset and hopefully get them scholarships and get them into college with cheer,” Williams said.