Moments before the national anthem and subsequent kickoff of Kingman’s state quarterfinal football game last Friday in Beloit, four Eagles cheerleaders – bundled up to combat the crisp, evening air –took their places on the track between the visiting spectators in the bleachers and players on the sideline.
 
One of them, sophomore Lauren Patten, clutched her cheering poms against a green down jacket that provided warmth throughout Kingman’s 35-6 victory.
 
The Eagles’ cheering quartet was an abbreviated version of the full 10-member squad. Prior commitments like the Family, Career and Community Leaders of America National Fall Conference in Ohio took away some members, including senior co-captain Tori Tetrick, daughter of cheerleader sponsor Melissa Tetrick. On game day, Tetrick learned two cheerleaders were out with illness.

 
That left Patten, a special needs student in her second year on the squad, as the veteran of a group that included Jagger Francis, Madi Garton and Leah White.
 
“It has brought her out of a shell,” Kingman paraprofessional Deb Elliott said of Patten, this week’s CapFed® True Blue® Student of the Week. “She’s not afraid to talk to the others on the squad and tonight, she’s the senior one out there. She’s really become more outgoing.”
 
Born with Down syndrome, Patten started cheering as a middle school student. Her passion for it prompted her to sign up for the high school squad as a freshman. Kingman does not have a formal tryout process.
 
“I like cheering for all sports, especially basketball,” Patten said. “It’s fun to be with friends.”
 
Elliott is part of a rotating group of paras who are available to assist Patten on game nights. Due to Patten’s independence, it is light work, she and Tetrick agree.
 
“She has a lot of enthusiasm,” Tetrick said. “She tries so hard and learns the cheers quickly. She works at it and puts a lot of effort into it.
 
“She cares about everybody who’s there. If somebody is hurt, she worries about them. She’s fun to have around.”
 
Patten has participated in summer camps and assists in clinics for aspiring cheerleaders. She is also a regular at the community pep rallies, several of which have accompanied a recent run of football success that has mirrored Patten’s time in high school.
 
That reliability has been important to Tetrick, who served as a sponsor for just three cheerleaders in her first year on the job two years ago. Last year, Patten’s first on the squad, there were eight.
 
Tetrick says Patten’s peers “treat her like one of the bunch.”
 
“She’s always at the pep rallies,” Tetrick said. “We had several cheerleaders who couldn’t be there the other night, but she definitely was. Even if others are busy, she’s always there and being supportive.

 
“She’s kind of a strong spot for us because she doesn’t have a lot of other activities, so it’s all about cheer for her.”
 
Patten is excited for Saturday, when Kingman’s cheer squad will travel to Topeka to participate in the KSHSAA Game Day Spirit Showcase. It will be a first for her and many of her teammates. Like the other participating schools, the Eagles will perform a fight song routine, band chant and crowd-leading cheer.
 
“We’ve been working every week for several weeks to get ready for that,” Tetrick said. “We have several freshmen on the team, so Lauren has actually been ahead of them because she learned it all last year.
 
“We video a lot of the cheers and the dances and the new things that we do. She watches the video and practices them at home because she wants to get them right.”
 
That was evident at last week’s football game, as Patten and her teammates performed cheers while the football team continued its postseason march. Soon after the victory, she joined the squad and a group of students who made the 140-mile trek to Beloit via pep bus for the ride back home.
 
“Her excitement and passion toward cheerleading, you can just see it,” Kingman athletic director Rollie Van Wyhe said. “She loves doing it. She’s excited to cheer for the team. You watch her and you can just easily tell it’s the favorite thing she enjoys doing the most.”