Slinger Cheerleading Team headed to WACPC State Tournament on Saturday, February 21 | By Shelby Konen

February 17, 2026 – Slinger, Wi – The season for the Slinger High School Cheerleading Team goes far beyond football games. Starting with tryouts in early May to the upcoming WACPC State competition this Saturday, February 21, the Owl’s season stretches 10 months of the year.

During the summer, the team learned numerous cheers and worked through new halftime routines for the football season. To further enhance its skills, the team participated in a 2-day Camp Jeff Cheer Camp hosted at Hartford Union High School.

At this camp the team started rapidly advancing stunts and solidifying skills that were incorporated into halftime routines.

From there the Owls continued to support its football team and prove why they earned the title State Champions in the prior season.

After football ended, the cheer team started learning its Game Day routine choreographed by Lauren Tuska.

“We’ve always loved her creativity and this year she stayed strong in creating a routine that is uniquely ours,” said Slinger High School junior Shelby Konen.

“Through the countless hours we put into the routine, fueled by pep talks from our coaches Amy Bretz and Kathy Kalupa, we were feeling confident going into our first competition.

“Unfortunately, we had to adjust the routine due to an absence with only four practices until our first competition. Despite the changes, the team persevered and showed amazing resilience, placing third at the Lightning Bolt Explosion competition at Appleton North High School.”

The team was back to full strength and on pace for another strong competition at Kettle Moraine Lutheran, however another round of injuries resulted in more last-minute adjustments and at the end of the day, a 5th-place finish.

With immense amounts of versatility from all members of the team, the Owls worked hard in every practice, reviewing judges feedback and striving to improve.

Headed into Prelims on February 14, the team was ready to take the mat. The pressure was intense, especially as the reigning WACPC State Champions in Cheer Dance.

“We knew we put so much time, work, tears, sweat, and strength into this routine,” said Konen.

“Before our performance we all agreed to leave it all out there. To give it our all, and we did. We took that mat with smiles. We pushed through pain, aches, the desire to give up. We kept those smiles, the energy, and the strength through every one of those three minutes. Walking off the mat, we knew we performed our routine better than we ever had before.”

The awards ceremony was intense. “All we could say is that we tried our best, and whatever happens happens,” said Konen.

“We sat in our circle of the girls we consider our second family, hand in hand, heads down, listening for our school. We counted down how many teams had been called. It was three, then four then five. We squeezed each other’s hands not knowing what to think. And then it happened, Slinger’s name was called over the speakers. We screamed, we cried, we fell to the floor, smiles taking over our faces. We had done it again. We are going to State!”

Come see what all the hard work was for at The Resch Center in Green Bay this Saturday, February 21. Slinger cheer performs at 2 p.m. Fill the stands. Hope to see you there.