Just weeks before Katrina Kohel was set to compete with Morill High School at the Nebraska State High School Cheer and Dance Championships, the rest of her teammates quit.
Kohel told FOX Television Stations, "The three freshmen quit for personal reasons."
So, with no squad to compete alongside her, Kohel was given the option by her coach to attend the championships as a spectator, or as a competitor. Kohel chose the latter.
She said, "I decided I wanted to go and still compete because I wanted to end my senior year with a bang, and I didn't want to give up on cheerleading because it has been such a huge part of my life."
So, Kohel did just that, moving around the mat picking up different pom-poms and performing various cheers and moves. "I wasn't (nervous) at first and then we got into the arena...and it all kind of started to hit me...and it felt like more real in the fact that I was there competing by myself," she said.
As the video shows, the crowd, and even Kohel's competitors cheered her on.
"It felt amazing," she said. "It was just so awe-inspiring to me that they were willing to do that even though I was their competition."
Kohel ended up placing 8th out of the 12 competing teams. The judges had to adjust her score because she couldn't perform certain stunts alone.
Kohel said she's touched by the acclaim she's received for going at it alone.
"It feels amazing to see how positive people are reacting to it and... how it's showing them no matter what, as long as you put your mind to it, you can still do it," she said.
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