A cheerleader from Adel-DeSoto-Minburn High School found out the team qualified to Nationals while she was in the grocery store.

ADM sophomore Annika Hillmer has been doing cheer for the past four years, as she danced for 10 years prior, and says that she saw a flyer in school in seventh grade for cheer, and believed that her skills would carry over. She enjoys cheering at home games with her friends in the student section, but a cheering competition brings a more personal perspective for her as it allows her to showcase specific skills. The Tigers qualified for the National Cheerleaders Association competition in Dallas, Texas and Hillmer tells Raccoon Valley Radio that she was notified while she was grocery shopping.

“I was actually in the middle of Fareway when I got the call, so I was trying to be like discreet, but I was jumping up and down. I was freaking out, but yeah.”

Hillmer notes that one of her favorite bonding moments with the squad was making comp team time blankets at a teammates house, as it was really nice and intimate. She is nervous ahead of the National competition, but knows that the girls will be ready when it’s time to go cheer. The National Cheerleaders Association competition will be happening this Saturday.