Sole returning senior leads BNI cheer team

Kristina Vazquez, Staff Reporter

             Senior Kinnedi Lewis is this year’s Bishop Noll cheerleading captain after being the only original team member left from the 2023 class. 

              Lewis is the 2023 football season and 2024 basketball season cheerleading captain. After being the only senior who has been on the cheer team since the initial 2019 football season tryout her freshman year, her hard work and dedication has paid off, making her the face of leadership and guidance in her last year at Bishop Noll. 

             ‘I’m not going to lie, it hasn’t been as easy as I thought it would be taking on a new level of leadership on the team,” Lewis said. “It’s scary when everyone’s looking to you for guidance, and I feel like I let them down when I mess up, but I try to make it as fun as possible for myself and the other girls on the team.” 

             Most people know, though, the high school experience has not gone as planned, as goes for Lewis. 

             As an at-home student her sophomore year, Lewis was not allowed to participate on the sidelines, due to Covid-19 rules. Lewis reported that she made the team again but was not able to cheer due to her and her mother’s decision to continue remote learning to protect their health.  

            After missing a year, though, she was back in action by her junior year for the 2021 football season. 

          “As being team captain, Kinnedi has displayed great leadership skills by being dedicated and showing the importance of hard work and perseverance,” Julianee Sandoval, cheer coach of 11 years, said. “She is also an excellent role model for the future of the team.” 

           While her final year at Bishop Noll moves along, Lewis recalls what it was like as a freshman and looks towards future goals for her last two seasons. 

           “I would tell my freshman self to not feel like I wasn’t good enough,” she said. “I would tell myself not to care about what some people thought of me and to keep going steady.says My goal is to have fun this year, since I don’t plan on cheering in college. I want to make sure I teach the girls the technical aspect of cheer, so that they can use that versatility when I’m gone.” 

           You can see Lewis perform at upcoming football games, including the Homecoming game on Sept. 16, where the cheer team will debut a new and exciting routine. 

          She adds, “This year’s routine is definitely more intricate than ever before. Everyone should come out to the Homecoming game and see what we have in store!”