From rubber chicken to college commitments: How Ferris High School became a cheerleading powerhouse

It started in middle school, watching her older sister perform for the cheer squad at Ferris High School. A few years later, Carys Colley joined the same cheer program .

Three years and two broken arms later, Colley is now one of seven Ferris Saxons senior cheerleaders who will be cheering collegiately next fall. The injuries could have pushed her away from the sport. Instead, they reinforced how much it meant to her.

"I still had such a passion for it," she said. "I didn't want to take a break. I didn't want to stop. I wasn't scared. From then on, I realized it's what I should be doing."

Having this many college-bound cheerleaders in a single graduating class is an accomplishment for a program that has rapidly grown into one of the state's most successful. The group includes six boys headed to collegiate programs at Washington State, Eastern Washington and the University of Idaho, a reflection not only of Ferris's recent competitive success, but of a culture that has transformed the way cheerleading is viewed within the school.

"This is the most we've ever had in one class, for sure," said Emily Schutz, who recently completed her 16th season as Ferris' varsity cheer coach. "We've never had hardly more than one at a time sign for college cheer. For seven of them to get to go on and cheer at the next level is seriously remarkable."

Ferris fielded the largest team in school history this year, with 42 athletes across its varsity and junior varsity squads. The growth has coincided with a sustained run of success. Ferris won state championships in the traditional and traditional coed divisions this season, while the JV squad captured state and national titles in the JV division.

The varsity team also traveled to nationals and finished runner-up in both the coed traditional and coed game -day divisions against teams from across the country. The results have become routine for a program that has now won three consecutive state championships.

For years, Ferris looked much like many high school cheer programs around the region. The team was composed entirely of girls, and roster sizes generally hovered between 12 and 16 athletes.

Schutz traced the beginning of the program's transformation to Ferris' longstanding Rubber Chicken tradition, the annual spirit competition with rival school Lewis and Clark.

For decades, Ferris cheerleaders would invite male students to participate during Rubber Chicken. The boys would learn routines, and perform at the game. That was the extent of male cheerleaders at Ferris.

That began to shift within the past five years when three boys who had participated in Rubber Chicken decided they wanted to join the team.

"Those three boys that kind of started the coed side of things, the whole school loved them," Schutz said. "They were just the nicest kids ever."

The following year, they recruited friends. Three boys became six. The next year, six became 11. This past season, Ferris had 14 boys in the program.

Though large numbers of male cheerleaders remain relatively rare at the high school level, the culture has begun to shift in a new direction. Ferris' rapid growth mirrors broader changes within high school cheerleading, where coed teams have become increasingly common, Schutz said.

"When I was in high school here, there was no way someone was going to be a boy cheerleader on our team," she said. "Probably even 10 years ago, I think people were hesitant to do that. There are still some schools where that is just not a thing. But somehow, it has just become so fun and acceptable here."

Part of that change, she believes, comes from helping students understand what modern cheerleading looks like.

Many people still picture pompoms and dance routines when they think of cheer. While those elements remain important parts of some programs, college cheerleading often revolves around athletic skills such as tumbling and partner stunting.

At the collegiate level, male cheerleaders are often recruited specifically for their ability to serve as bases in partner stunts. Experienced athletes who can properly lift, toss and support flyers are in high demand.

"We do coed stunting," Schutz said. "Most of the boys are back spots in group stunting, and they're all bases for coed stunting. That's kind of how they all got picked to be going to college."

Prospective collegiate cheerleaders typically attend clinics and tryouts where coaches evaluate their technical skills and athletic ability.

Senior Kolten Marsh, who will attend the University of Idaho, didn't grow up dreaming of becoming a cheerleader. His introduction came when he was trying to learn how to backflip. His friends persuaded him to attend some stunt camps.

"I realized it was pretty fun," Marsh said.

When it came time to pursue college opportunities, Marsh attended recruiting clinics where coaches evaluated athletes and extended offers.

Marsh believes more students are beginning to recognize the athletic demands involved in cheerleading.

"I definitely think that more people are starting to see cheer as an actual sport," he said.

Marsh, originally from the Boise area, transferred to Ferris for his junior and senior years and quickly found a welcoming environment.

"I would definitely say the culture here at Ferris is very welcoming," he said.

The same competitive environment that helped attract Marsh has become a hallmark of the Ferris program.

Washington State commit Elijah Olney initially resisted joining the team.

Schutz encouraged him to attend an open gym session, Olney said. Eventually, she adjusted the date of a practice so it wouldn't conflict with his birthday.

"She'd been trying to get me on the team and I consistently said no," Olney said. "Then she said, 'There was an open gym on this day, and I knew it was your birthday, so I made it a day later so you could show up.' I was like, 'All right, now I have to go.' "

He attended one practice and quickly found that he enjoyed cheer.

"Our team is just a really big family," he said. "We practice consistently throughout the summer. We're together 90% of our summer and 90% of the school year. You really get to know everybody on the team."

Colley, who plans to cheer at Whitworth while also participating in the university's new stunt program, described Ferris as fundamentally different from any team experience she had encountered elsewhere.

"You're obviously striving to get better, but everyone is supporting you while doing it," she said.

She credits her coaches for helping create an environment where athletes feel supported while pursuing ambitious goals.

"Our coaches are amazing," Colley said. "They've helped us with everything."

The support system became especially important during the past two seasons.

Ferris traveled to nationals in 2024 before graduating nearly its entire roster. Most programs would have viewed the following season as a rebuilding year.

Schutz said only four athletes returned from that nationals team, leaving the coaching staff with a largely inexperienced group entering the 2024-25 school year.

The Saxons elected not to pursue nationals that year and instead focused on development. By mid-season, however, coaches realized they had another special group.

The athletes validated that belief by winning another state championship and laying the groundwork for this season's success.

Schutz also credits the program's increased emphasis on tumbling for opening doors to college opportunities. Because many collegiate programs prioritize athletes with advanced tumbling skills, Ferris has worked to push athletes to continually improve.

"Tumbling is a huge barrier for people to go on to the next level," Schutz said. "We have really tried to require the kids to move up in their tumbling as the years have gone by."

As more athletes develop those skills, more opportunities have followed. For the current senior class, those opportunities have resulted in college offers and the chance to continue competing at the next level.

"I don't think any of us ever expected to be here," Colley said. "It's really cool that we got to support each other through this, and now we're all doing our dreams."

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