George Jenkins’ senior main base Samara Weatherholtz’ best moment of the season was her realizing she had the ability to perform two-man stunts.
This was a skill she heavily used throughout the season even leading into the FHSAA 2026 Competitive Cheerleading State Championships in February. And when it was time to perform on one of the biggest stages, Weatherholtz’ stunt group performed a two-man round-off up and a two-man switch-up, which was significant because she was one of the only girls on the cheer team strong enough to do the performance. And in the end, it became a signature stunt for Weatherholtz, helping contribute to the difficulty of the routine, placing second in the state for the medium coed division.
“Contributing this routine felt like I was finally pulling my weight. I was finally taking part. In previous seasons I’ve felt I was waiting on the back burner. But this season was different. I was physically the strongest I’ve ever been. Winning Player of the Year feels huge to me. I never would have guessed it would be me. I am very proud of myself, and I feel like all the work I put in this season is very deserving of being Player of the Year,” Weatherholtz said.
But of course, Weatherholtz wasn’t always this strong. She started cheering at age 5 on the Lakeland Eagles recreation team — and the sport wasn’t anything she expressed she wanted to do, as it was an activity her mom wanted her to, at the very least, try. Still, once she started it, she didn’t want to stop.
She went on to cheer for seven seasons on that team before going to George Jenkins High School and deciding to try out for the cheer team.
Her journey from recreation and even through high school cheer has taught her many lessons.
“I believe cheerleading has taught me a lot in life. It’s taught me to put others first and the worth of teamwork, especially within stunting. There is no stunt a group can do without working together and understanding how each other stunts. Cheer has taught me to problem solve and find solutions as a group. You cannot always rely on a coach or parent, sometimes you as the athlete have to figure it out,” she said.
Ironically, her last year of cheering with the Lakeland Eagles is the same coach who coached her all throughout high school: current cheer head coach and The Ledger’s Coach of the Year, Kiley Viggiano-Ramseur.
And it was Viggiano-Ramseur who helped Weatherholtz continue her cheer journey through high school. Not planning to cheer in high school, Weatherholtz found out many of her teammates were going to try out for the high school team, so Viggiano-Ramseur called her mom, asking if the-now senior would be interested as well.
Her mind changed and she made the junior varsity team.
“I was shy, but I already had experience so it was not hard for me to adjust. That year I learned to come out of my shell and that translates to this year’s (2026) team as I am more open with my teammates and less afraid to talk to new people,” Weatherholtz said.
In her journey at George Jenkins, her workmanlike effort accentuated her character — never complaining, always respectful and consistently showing up ready to put in the work.
That work was used for her senior year when the program transitioned into a coed program. Weatherholtz’ dedication and strength allowed her to take on a unique and extremely important role within the team: She became the only girl on the Eagles who was able to assist with two-man coed stunts, which made a huge impact on the routine and directly contributed to the scoresheet during competition season.
As the season progressed, there were several portions of the routine in which Weatherholtz was able to utilize assisted coed skills as a female — something that truly set her apart.
“She worked extremely hard on these skills from the very beginning of the season and never backed down from the challenge,” Viggiano-Ramseur said. “Her determination and commitment paid off, and she did not disappoint. Anyone who watched our routine would have immediately noticed that we had a female athlete confidently executing assisted coed skills on the floor, which is not something you see every day. Her ability to step into that role gave our team a competitive edge and showcased her strength, versatility, and dedication to her craft.
“Even before this year, when she was in all-girl stunt groups, Samara was a force. She worked tirelessly not only during practice, but outside of practice as well, attending clinics, including USF stunt clinics, and doing whatever it took to continue growing as an athlete and competitor.”
She wants to grow so much that Weatherholtz’s goal for cheer in the future is to cheer in college.
“Again, this is something I didn’t originally want to do but at the last minute I’ve changed my mind. I have been continuously taking stunting and tumbling privates to make sure I am as prepared as I can be for the college tryouts in May. I also hope I can improve on my tumbling in the near future and learn new stunts that I have never tried before. I also hope that if I am lucky enough to make the college cheer team, that I am not too shy to make new friends. I hope the adjustment from high school to college is a smooth one and I am able to stay out of my shell,” she said.
This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Unexpected cheer path for Weatherholtz leads to Competitor of the Year
Reporting by Robert Magobet, Lakeland Ledger / The Ledger
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
