Senior Rylee Peroni’s hand squeezed the hand of her fellow cheerleaders. The team was silent. No one in the district ever made it this far. Weeks of coming home late, sore, exhausted and mentally drained all for this moment; her whole career was for this moment. “Please don’t say our name, please,” played on repeat in her mind as the announcer listed the national finals placements. 

Caney Creek was called only second to last, and Peroni went home a national silver medalist in coed cheer. 

“In my mind, second place was just as good as first place,” Peroni said. “It was extremely close. It’s just that feeling of accomplishment; knowing that you did it is amazing.”

Beginnings

Peroni’s first exposure to cheerleading was at 6 years old, when her mom signed her up as a cheerleader for her brother’s youth league football team. Another six years later, that experience snowballed and led her to join the Moorhead Junior High cheer team.

“I think every little girl at some point has always wanted to be a cheerleader,” Peroni said. “Seeing cheerleaders made me think like ‘oh my gosh I want to be one of those,’ Even as all friends (that I joined with) quit, I stayed. I never grew out of the phase; it’s always been a part of me.”

Leadership

Peroni made JV her freshman year at Caney Creek, the next three she was on varsity. This year, without the usual application process, Peroni and her close friend Lysette Torres were appointed by cheer coach Janel Jackson as the team captains without hesitation.

“They’ve really been the stability of the team,” Jackson said. “Those girls I’ve coached since junior high, this is my sixth year with them, I’ve been with them through the ups and downs. They’re very patient, very giving, and they just help anybody all the time, even outside of cheer. I think that the team has responded really well to (them).”

As team captain she strictly maintains team work ethic, so finds herself juggling leadership and friendship. Even through disagreements, she sees her team more as a family.

“We have little arguments here and there, but we all get over it.” Peroni said. “Some of the girls used to call me mean because I would have to tell them, ‘we gotta get our lives together.’ As the year goes on and you figure all  (issues) out, it ends up just making a really good bond between captain and team. It’s truly brotherly and sisterly”

Competing

This year at UIL State cheer placed fifth in coed; much to Peroni’s dismay. When the Nation High School Cheer Championship regional qualifiers came around, Peroni refused to face another let down again.

“This year, we were so focused on coming back from state.” Peroni said. “We were staying after school every day, being pulled out of class to practice, even staying until six to seven o’clock, after school. It just felt so much more different than the previous.”

Peroni and her team advanced to NHSCC in Orlando Florida for the third time in four years. The team made district history advancing to finals, and quickly made it again after placing second in coed cheer game day performance.

“It was like the perfect trip,” Peroni said. “Bonding with the team after that was great. The performance had gone just how I wanted it to. I wish we would have gotten first, but I am beyond happy with second.”

Peroni remains in the top 10% of the class of 2025 despite admitting her time working toward NHSCC took a toll on her academic performance this year.

“I might not have made as good grades this year as I have in the past years, but it has made more of an impact on me as a person,” Peroni said. “It taught me how to talk to people, how to teach people, it also taught me how to trust people and honestly I wouldn’t trade (my experience as captain) for the world.”

Goodbyes

 Peroni was accepted into Sam Houston, Texas State, and Texas Tech Universities, but remains undecided. Peroni will pursue cheer in college if the opportunity presents, but intends to focus on her Biology Major first.

“I’ve just had such a great experience here that I feel fulfilled with cheer already,” Peroni said. “I’m gonna try to but if I don’t, I know that I had a great experience already. I couldn’t wish for anything better.”

As she leaves her team, she looks forward to their progression. The NHSCC cheer team was the youngest in school history, and Peroni is confident they will succeed in the future. 

“It’s only up from here,” Peroni said. “They saw what we did and what we could do, and they have to go on from there, move on from this year and just get better. I Always put in your best effort and find trust in your teammates. Who knows, they’re going to be so experienced by senior year that they could come home with a gold medal.”