Inductees

At St. Francis Borgia High School in Washington, a quaint town just west of St. Louis, you’ll find something rare but which, before long, will be common.

It’s a trophy case for school’s cheerleading program. See the first-place, wooden plaques? And the ribbons? There’s also a framed cover of American Cheerleader magazine, which touted the Knights a few years back.

And, if that doesn’t impress you, walk into the gym and take a look up to your left. On a wall on the mezzanine are 10-foot vertical banners proudly reminding all of the impressive work of competitive cheer.

Even better, that story now has a place in the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame, which proudly inducted the St. Francis Borgia High School Cheerleading Program with the Class of 2021.

A program that took root in 1945 and, like many high school cheer squads across the state, entered competitive cheer in the late 1980s, the Knights are among those setting the bar extremely high.

Borgia has won nine state championship in the Missouri Cheerleaders Coaches Association. Those cover the years 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020.

The program also has qualified for the United Cheerleaders Association (UCA) National four times and received the Sportsmanship Award from the Missouri Cheerleaders Coaches Association. Additionally, two cheerleaders have earned NCAA Division I scholarships, and 12 others have been university cheerleaders.

All this by a program that was coached by Mary Ann Pelster for years before she retired in 2003, leaving a solid foundation for what was to come under the guidance of Sandi Gildehaus (MSHOF 2021).

So what has driven the success? A former cheerleader arguably said it best for anyone who has ever worn the uniform.

“To me, being a Borgia cheerleader is an honor that you are entrusted with,” said Bonnie Eckelkamp, Class of 2017. “It means working hard at all team practices, not only for your team, but for yourself and making yourself better in all areas of your life.”

However, success didn’t come overnight.

For several years, Borgia Cheer finished in fifth place at the state cheer competition before, in 2010, finishing as a runner-up. When team headed to Columbia in 2011, no one had to remind anyone to get focused.

“The ladies were so ready,” Gildehaus said. “We had lost by nine points the year before and that was a huge motivator for us. They say yu practice until you can’t get it wrong — and we did.  The energy and drive those ladies had was unmatched. I wasn’t even nervous when they took the floor – I knew we would walk out of the Hearnes Center with that state title.”

The 2018-2019 competition may have been the most challenging routine Borgia has ever executed. Having competed in nationals in 2016 and sensed it best push the boundaries to succeed, Borgia delivered a routine with 13 twisting skills per stunt group – which they had only recently mastered.

Gildehaus said a coach whose team was warming up was so impressed that she threw her hands in the air and said, “I cannot believe this!”

So many have driven Borgia Cheerleading to success. In the Pelster era, assistants were Carla Poepsel and Brandy Foss. In the Gildehaus era, assistants have been Michelle Mueller, Joett Schwoeppe, Emily Marquart, Kara Ressel and Jordan Dyson.

The cheerleaders of the 1970s, then the 80s and 90s have paved the way.

That’s why Borgia Cheerleaders continue work hard – and work out, hitting a local facility called The Competitive Edge. That’s where the facility’s Raphael Perry, known by most as Cinco, enhances the team’s conditioning and strength program.

When past cheerleaders watch the modern day Borgia Cheer Program, they beam with pride.

Gretchen Pettet, a 1989 graduate, said cheerleaders always put in the effort to boost school spirit by: wearing uniforms on game days, decorating seniors’ homes for the last game, walking through the Homecoming parades and wearing giant mums on uniforms.

They also presented trophies to winners of the Turkey Tournament.

“To see the success of the Borgia cheer program brings back all the feels of our hard work paying off through the years,” said Brandy Rott-Foss, a 1993 graduate whose daughter is a current cheerleader.

The time sacrifices of past cheer teams made isn’t lost on the cheerleaders of the past decade.

Said 2017 grad Abbey Hedrick, “Being a Borgia cheerleader means being a part of a tradition that many cheerleaders before you have worked hard to create and maintain.”