Senior Bree Erler was honored with being this year’s captain for the Stillwater dance team. Erler faces issues with her last year of dancing with the Stillwater chevals and is disappointed, yet optimistic with the results.

Erler is a motivated young woman who is planning to go to college to be a radiation therapist and will hopefully be rewarded to work with cancer patients at the Children’s Hospital. She has only danced for four years and has been on the chevals for three years, but she has loved it ever since she joined.

Erler has such compassion for her team and calls them a big family. Although recently, the athletic administration has informed Erler and the team that they will not be able to letter because the size of the team is so small, therefore they will have to compete at a junior varsity level.

“It makes me sad,” Erler said, “but not because we can’t letter. It is the fact that the chevals has gotten so small and keeps dwindling down as the years go by. I started out with 40 girls on the team my sophomore year, and now for competition season my senior year we only have 6 girls.”

Most people would find this news extremely disappointing, yet Erler takes a positive and uplifting approach and that is just one of the many qualities that qualified her to be captain.

Junior Megan Herrick said, “Bree is a great dancer and a very good leader. She knows when to take charge and she can also have fun with it. She is a role model and I look up to her a lot.”

Erler had previously broken her ankle right before her first performance of her junior year, therefore she was very limited last year and could not dance. Now, she returns stronger than ever before, and is honored with the position of being captain for her senior year.

The Stillwater chevals coach, Megan Bauer said, “She motivates others well and strives for excellence  in herself and the team. This group of girls work hard at every practice, stays motivated and pushes one another to be the best they can be.”

Overall, Erler proves to be an all-around excellent person to be this years captain for the chevals. Even though the disappointment of not being able to letter might show on some people, the Stillwater chevals are keeping their heads up and are eager for all the great memories they are going to make as a team and as a family.