The Student News Site of Winter Park High School

Wildcat Chronicle

The Student News Site of Winter Park High School

Wildcat Chronicle

The Student News Site of Winter Park High School

Wildcat Chronicle

Athletic Spotlights

Mackenzie Kozlowski (Cheerleader)

by Emma Scarelli

Football game season means that there is a start of cheerleading as well. This year’s  cheerleading team has five seniors, 22 girls total. So far, our school has played Lake Nona and West Orange, with one win under our belt.

There is so much spirit here at our school, and cheerleaders are a large part of that. Senior Mackenzie Kozlowski says, “This season, I am looking forward to bonding with the team and coming together to perform the best we can. I am looking forward to cheering at the football games and seeing the team everyday at practice.”

She has high hopes that the girls will make many memories that she will carry on with her towards her future journeys. Mackenzie has been on the team since her sophomore year and has won a state championship, placed 3rd in the nation, and has been region metro and district champions for the past 2 years.

When asked about what goals she had for the team’s future as well as her own, Kozlowski said,” A goal I have for myself and the rest of the seniors is to lead the team to a State Championship. A goal for the team is to be the best team we can be and practice the hardest we can to succeed and achieve our goals.”

This selfless and hard working senior has strived to achieve the most of herself and her teammates. This year’s team particularly is filled with many younger athletes. Kozlowski is making it one of her priorities to ensure that everyone is having a good time while still putting in the work. She wants to bring home her second State Championship before graduating this coming May.

Mackenzie is also a part of the Winger Park High School IB  program. She has succeeded in managing her time to fit both studies and her extracurriculars. Her future plans include going to a prestigious University to continue her education into medical school. Kozlowski says that the people who have been compassionately impactful to her are her family.

“They have pushed me to be the best student the past four years of high school. My family has high expectations which makes me achieve the goals I have set for myself revolving around education. I decided to be in the IB program and continue doing cheer to be involved in the school community while achieving educational success.”

Keep an eye out for Mackenzie Kozlowski, she’s a force to be reckoned with!

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A Look Into Barry’s Book: Emma Barry (Cheereleader)

By Emma Scarelli

Time management skills are something that take practice to perfect. When you are a high schooler, sports are entertaining. You get to participate with your friends and make memories together.

Emma Barry has been working to perfect her time management skills even now, as a senior. Barry is a part of Winter Park’s competition cheerleading team and she has been on varsity spirit for all four years of high school. She has been cheering for over six years and has pride when it comes to trying to perfect both her skills and her studies.

When Barry was asked what cheerleading has done to help her in school, she replied, “Having practice 4-5 days a week with extra privates worked in with homework is a lot to handle, and cheer has made me learn to not procrastinate and get everything done on time so things don’t pile up.”

Taking the initiative to get assignments done is a priority when it comes to being eligible for sports. All sports players strive to be above and beyond the minimum 2.0 GPA requirement.

All of the lessons and experiences Barry has encountered have all been related to how she manages her time, the deadlines and tests, the cheer dues and competition fees, all together are a lot to handle. Coach Austin, head cheer coach for Winter Park’s cheer team, has a saying that Barry plays constantly in her head, “If you don’t do things with a purpose, it’s a problem.

For this year’s team, Barry is aiming to place top three again in the ESPN National Finals at ESPN Wide World of Sports. This senior has said the team is already preparing to reach this goal. “There is so much talent on this team it blows my mind. We all are incredibly competitive and want to improve every day. There is never a dull moment with my girls!”

In the future, Emma Barry wants to go on to cheer on a college level team while getting an education. “Before cheering for Winter Park I didn’t really think about how it would be like to cheer in college but now cheering on the sidelines for 3-4 years, it has changed my mind and made me consider cheering gameday in college.”

Growing up, Barry had watched the college nationals on ESPN. She had dreams of becoming an Alabama All Girl Cheerleader and is looking forward to trying out in the summer of 2022.

 

 

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