Cheerleader Goes Solo After Team Quits Ahead Of States

Here's a riddle for you: what's the sound of one girl cheerleading?

Well, you're about to find out because that's what one high school cheerleader in Nebraska did when the rest of her team quit.

Meet 17-year-old senior Katrina Kohel. Kohel was gearing up for the Nebraska state cheerleading competition with her team from Morrill High School. However, their preparations hit a snag: three of her teammates decided to quit the team leaving Kohel in the lurch.

"The three freshmen quit for personal reasons," Kohel told FOX TV Stations.

Never mind that having only four people on the cheerleading team seems like too few already, Kohel's coach urged her to go to the state competition despite her teammates quitting. Whether that was as a spectator or a competitor was left up to her.

Kohel decided to travel to Grand Island, Nebraska — the Mecca of Nebraska high school cheerleading — and compete.

"I decided I wanted to go and still compete because I wanted to end my senior year with a bang, and I didn’t want to give up on cheerleading because it has been such a huge part of my life," she said.

And end her senior year with a bang she did.

Katrina Kohel Threw Down One Gutsy Performance In The Face Of Adversity

Watch it again if you must. She's just out there owning the floor like it owes her money. Kohel is handling multiple sets of pompoms and even signs. This girl knows her way around props like the love child of Carrot Top and Gallagher (sorry for that visual).

You know what, I'm going to say this: this wasn't Kohel making the best of it after the team quit on her. This is her solo debut. She is the Morrill High School cheer team.

You know how Peter Gabriel decided he was too big for Genesis and did his own thing? Kohel is Peter Gabriel and her teammates are the other dudes in Genesis, whose names I do not know (except Phil Collins).

To further this analogy the performance Kohel unloaded on Nebraskan cheer fans was her "Shock The Monkey." A performance that let all everyone know that she could in fact do this alone.

Fortunately, Kohel's grandparents were on hand to watch her solo debut. The rest of her family was at her brother's wrestling match, which is definitely not something she'll be able to use as ammo any time she argues with her parents from here on out.

Kohel told FOX that she wasn't sure if this marked the end of her cheering career. However, she did share what she plans to do next. She said she plans to serve her country and enlist in the Air Force.

That's very cool, and congratulations to Katrina Kohel for having the guts to go out there on her own and perform her heart out. I'm confident most of us reading (and writing) this article would've opted to take the spectator route if we found ourselves in a similar situation.

Follow on Twitter: @Matt_Reigle