Along with WAHS teammate Jayna Phillips, Flannery is joining Mercyhurst University’s newly forming STUNT team as a freshman this fall.

Warren’s cheer team will miss her greatly.

“To me, Maddie was someone I could rely on,” said WAHS coach Melissa Feaster. “I could depend on her for being extremely consistent. Her consistency always landed her front and center on the sidelines and competition floor. Her talent and consistency as a flyer were the reasons why she was always featured in many stunts and pyramids during the competition routines over the last four years. Her consistency wasn’t the only thing that landed Maddie as being one of the top flyers over the last four years; her grace and poise while she was flying through the air was truly beautiful.

“Maddie wasn’t only reliable during practice, games and competitions, she was a cheerleader I could go to for help with anything,” Feaster added. “She was the one I could call when someone didn’t show up for a tag day shift. Maddie’s the one that made 120 minicamp bows this year and 90 bows for last year’s minicamp. Maddie would be the cheerleader that would make a mental note of something that I would say I needed to do, and then she would be the one that would randomly message me and say, ‘Melissa, don’t forget to …’ or ‘Melissa did you …’ She has always been well-organized, which I appreciated because it made my job easier as a coach. … I am looking forward to watching both Maddie and Jayna cheer at Mercyhurst, and I really hope I have the opportunity to travel to watch one of their STUNT games.”

Photo submitted to Times Observer

It’s not a coincidence that Flannery decided she wanted to cheer in college early on in the Dragons’ recent string of PIAA competitive spirit appearances. Warren has qualified for the PIAA 2A Large Varsity Division Competitive Spirit Championships in Hershey three straight years — with the Dragons finishing sixth in 2021, fifth in 2022 and fourth this past school year, her senior year.

“I really started thinking about continuing my cheerleading career in college in about 10th grade,” said Maddie, the daughter of Shane and Sherrie. “I knew I wasn’t going to be ready to leave the sport behind come senior year. I chose Mercyhurst because I fell in love with the campus and also because they have the first D2 women’s STUNT team in Pennsylvania. The STUNT team is all stunting and tumbling, my two favorite parts of a cheerleading routine, and also the two parts I feel I excel at most. I believe being a part of this team will make me a better cheerleader and I think I have a lot of experience that will benefit the STUNT team.”

Her former coach thinks Maddie’s best is yet to come.

“I’m going to miss Maddie, but I’m so happy she’s continuing her journey as a cheerleader,” said Feaster. “She’s already put so much work in at WAHS open practices and at Mercyhurst clinics. She’s honestly already blown my mind with the skills she’s achieving.”

Maddie is undecided about her major, but there’s still time.

Photo submitted to Times Observer

“I am super excited to be cheering with Jayna for another four years. It brings a sense of comfort knowing that another girl from Warren will be cheering with me. Jayna is a great cheerleader with a lot of experience and the team will benefit greatly from her skills. It was not a complete surprise because Jayna and I toured Mercyhurst together and talked about cheering there,” she said. “Growing up in a small town meant I created lifelong friends that I know I can always count on. It meant cheering with the same girls from seventh grade to senior year, which created a sense of stability and trust that allowed us to all challenge ourselves. I knew there would always be someone to catch me when I flew.”

She means literally catch her, of course. Figuratively, she’s also had a tremendous amount of support.

“I would not be the person I am today without my mom always supporting me and encouraging me in what I wanted to do,” said Maddie. “Coach Melissa pushed me to be the best cheerleader and to achieve skills I never thought possible. Without her, I would not be the person I am today or the cheerleader I have become. Melissa was always somebody I could go to — whether it was cheerleading-related or not — which was something I really needed the last couple of years. I couldn’t be more grateful to have that kind of mentor in my life. I am super excited to cheer at Mercyhurst, but will definitely miss Melissa and all of the memories we made.

“The journey has been awesome, watching the team grow and get better and better each year,” added Maddie. “This group of seniors, who have cheered together since seventh grade, has a tremendous amount of talent that has built the foundation of WAHS’ blossoming program. Under the leadership of coach Melissa, we focused our skills individually and also as a team, leading us to compete at the state level three years in a row and be the first team from Warren to make it straight to finals. I hope to watch the WAHS cheerleading program continue to grow on the foundation that we built.

“One of the things I am most proud of is being one of two teams to make it to states in 2020,” she said. “I am also super proud that Jayna and I are the first two cheerleaders to be recruited and receive a scholarship to continue cheering at the collegiate level out of WAHS. I was a gymnast for eight years until eighth grade and then I quit to focus on cheer full-time. The tumbling experience I got from gymnastics helped with the tumbling aspect of cheerleading and the core strength I gained helped me to excel as a flyer. … Ever since I was a little girl, I have always loved tumbling and being thrown in the air. I was always asking the older girls to put me up in stunts. I tried out for cheerleading in seventh grade and completely fell in love with the sport. The competitiveness of the sport really draws me to it.

“My piece of advice for the girls following me at WAHS would be to not let fear stand in your way of doing something great,” she said. “You can do anything that you put your mind to and, if you fall, the concussion symptoms only last a couple weeks.”