On Tuesday, May 24, 2022, Quakertown senior Abby Gillmer was recognized for committing to continue her cheer career at Robert Morris University.
Abby Gillmer – Robert Morris University (Cheer)
Major: Sports Communication
Final list of colleges: Robert Morris, Widener, University of Alabama, University of Delaware
Reasons for choosing Robert Morris: “Great program and location.”
What was the progression that led you to competing in cheer at the collegiate level? “As soon as I started high school cheer, I knew that I wanted to take this to the next level. I enjoy the gameday aspect of it as well as the competitive aspect, so finding a college that offered both was a major plus. The opportunity to learn new skills, grow as an athlete and meet new people are really the overall factors that drove me to continue.”
Coach Carrie Maha says: “Abby is a lifer cheerer. Throughout the years, I’ve watched her grow up to be an amazing cheerleader. She is not only a brilliant base, but she is also a really good gymnast, which are two of the most amazing things you need to be a cheerleader. She’s really strong on her main bases, and she actually is one of the most 
spirited girls on the team. You could look at her at the toughest games – maybe it’s raining, snowing, whatever weather it is, and she always has that big smile on her face, giving it her all. The team votes for captains – the coaches don’t pick the captains, and the team voted for her to be our captain this year. That’s an amazing thing because she’s one of those cheerleaders that stuck out to me. Coaching for 20 years, I look at the girls freshman year and say, ‘She’s going to be captain senior year,’ and Abby is one of those people. It’s amazing because she always loved cheerleading. Her passion is cheerleading. On Friday nights, going out for games, you would see her pumped up. She’s running out on the field with the football players. She really loves watching football – it’s one of her favorite things. Her goal is to be a sports woman announcer. A lot of times I’d ask her about the game and what’s going on, and she’d tell me exactly what’s happening.
“One of her accomplishments was being on this team and getting through COVID – it was really hard for us to get through cheerleading with a mask on. It’s hard to stay spirited when you’re masked, but she was one of those people you could see smiling even with a mask on. Our team has been to nationals, we did states this year. At the beginning of the year, we ask the seniors especially what their goals are, and we achieved them for her, and I’m proud that we did. Also, the last two years she has been a QMFA volunteer coach, and that team went to nationals this year and finished second, so she was not only a cheerleader for our team but also cheering on little cheerleaders and inspiring little cheerleaders of the future.
“I also want to mention how proud we are of Abby making the team at Robert Morris. We don’t get recruiters to come watch us cheer, so for cheerleading at college, you have to try out and you’re at a college tryout with other college cheerleaders, not just freshmen coming in but the seniors, juniors and sophomores. It’s a little intimidating and a lot of girls choose not to try out for college cheer, especially their freshmen year, but she went out and she did it. I’m so proud of her, and I’m excited to watch her cheer journey at a D-1 school.”
About Abby:
Favorite food: Lemons
Favorite TV show: Degrassi
Favorite artist: Taylor Swift
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