Laramie, WY - October 13, 2024: Megan Papcsy, a 2021 Bethlehem Catholic High School graduate, is a senior at the University of Wyoming and a member of the Cowgirl Cheerleading Team.
As part of our on the road interview series, and in an effort to spotlight our local student-athletes that move away to continue their academic and athletic careers at the next level, Keystone Sports Extra recently caught up with the Nazareth native where Cowboys and Cowgirls reign.
At Bethlehem Catholic, Megan was an honor student and a member of the cheerleading team that won two District XI championships. In her senior year, the team placed 5th at the PIAA championships. She was a member of the Valley Elite All Stars, a competitive elite cheerleading team based in Allentown, PA, which competes nationally. While competing for Valley Elite, she earned All-American status four times from the Universal Cheerleaders Association (UCA). During the summer months now, she is an instructor for UCA, traveling and teaching at youth cheer camps.
Upon graduating from Bethlehem Catholic, Megan was somewhat undecided about her cheerleading future. She attended Belmont Abbey College, a leading private Catholic institution near Charlotte, North Carolina. At Belmont Abbey, Megan participated in the acrobatics and tumbling program but she soon realized she missed cheerleading. After that first semester at Belmont Abbey, she was faced with a couple choices to make about her future, one being where to go in order to cheer again. She first returned home and attended community college for the spring semester of 2022.
Megan didn’t know exactly where she would go next but she knew she wanted to cheer. She began to formulate a plan and develop the courage to follow her heart. Megan and her parents, along with her two brothers, Jared, who wrestled for powerhouse Bethlehem Catholic and then went on to wrestle at NC State and Duke, and her younger brother Zach, who is currently a sophomore at Bethlehem Catholic and on the wrestling team, are a close family, so she had conversations with them and relied on their input.
Megan said that her father loved the State of Wyoming so she said: “How about the University of Wyoming? Why not?” Her parents supported her and said she could pick one trip to a “far-away” school. So, in order to attend a cheerleading clinic in February of 2022, she and her mom and dad boarded a flight destined for the “Home of the Cowboys and Cowgirls,” the University of Wyoming located in Laramie. The family sentiment may have been that it was too far away and that she probably wouldn’t end up going there full time but Megan soon would have other thoughts.
Megan remembers having a very good experience at the clinic and said: “The team was so welcoming and Coach (Guillermo Guerrero, who was in his first year of coaching) was amazing, and I liked the family atmosphere they all showed.” That was all Megan needed as she immediately sent in her application to be a Cowgirl before even knowing she would make the cheer team. Attending a clinic in a midwest town 1800 miles or 26 hours away and not knowing a single person showed a lot of courage. It was also February, the middle of a season in a place that can get snowy, cold and windy during their oftentimes eight months of winter.
Two months after attending the clinic, Megan was on another flight with her mom back to Laramie where the “UWyo” team was conducting their cheer tryouts for the 2022-2023 academic year. Megan was pumped and it was something she really wanted to accomplish, make that team!
After three days of demanding tryouts, Megan, along with other attendees, were notified within a couple hours of finishing the third day. Megan made the list and subsequently found herself sitting in the “you made it” meeting at her new home away from home. Megan reflected on that special day during our chat, saying: “It was the best decision I’ve ever made,” although she was immediately humbled by her mom who was waiting out in the parking lot for the “yea or nay” and who, in all the excitement, Megan forgot to call. Megan said her and her mom then shared a big hug, and some tears, as both were very grateful about the outcome that day.
Megan also reflected about what got her to the point she is at now. She said besides the most important thing, having a very supportive family who always let her make her own decisions, the five years she spent at the Valley Elite All Stars really provided her with the experience and confidence in cheerleading. Megan said that in 2019, at the age of 16, the all star team competed at the World Championships in Florida and placed in the top ten. This experience was a turning point for her and led her to having so much confidence. It has proved to be a key motivating factor in going after what she loves.
Megan mentioned two friends and former teammates from Bethlehem Catholic who are also currently on Division I college cheer teams, Keanna Lopez at Penn State and McKenna Harnett at the University of Pittsburgh. Megan expressed that they always pushed each other when teammates so that they could always get better. She said that it’s really awesome to see girls from a small school like Bethlehem Catholic make it in cheer at the next level. Megan loved being at Bethlehem Catholic but she said that some of the best friends she has made, and will continue to have throughout life, will have been developed just the same at the University of Wyoming.
Keystone Sports Extra had the opportunity to sit down and chat with Coach Guerrero who explained that he was very happy Megan decided to come to the clinic and tryout in 2022. Coach Guerrero knew right away Megan had so much talent. He said that it isn’t easy recruiting cheerleaders in the State of Wyoming because of the small roster numbers. Many of the high school teams have to travel a great distance each Friday night for football games, sometimes 2-4 hours one way, and that some football teams play 6 on 6 or 9 on 9 because of the small school numbers. Coach Guerrero said his program looks to recruit from Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, and elsewhere due to the low numbers in Wyoming. He said Megan works hard and is not only coachable but she is able to effectively teach technique to the younger cheerleaders and that is something you don’t see all the time. Megan was in Coach Guerrero’s first incoming class of his own so that group of cheerleaders are special to him as a new coach. Coach Guerrero said he looks forward to Megan spreading the word about the University of Wyoming spirit/cheerleading program.
Both Megan and Coach Guerrero brought up the fact that it’s not all the time cheerleaders get the recognition they deserve. They said that at the University of Wyoming, the community is united and “so dedicated to its teams” and that cheer has moved onto an equal playing field in their opinion. The donors and trustees really take care of the athletes and look out for them in the future. Megan related a story, which she said happens often, about being in Walmart one day and after someone recognized her as a cheerleader, they shouted: “Let’s Go Pokes.” Everyone in the community knows who the athletes are and they are looked up to. Unlike PA and some other states which have numerous large Division I colleges, the University of Wyoming is THE college in the state.
As with most college athletes, their time on campus is comparable to having two full-time jobs, and Megan is no different. There are five sports in which the cheer team supports with football and basketball (men’s and women’s) being the biggest. The cheer team has practice from 6am-8am every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday and they have weightlifting every Tuesday and Thursday from 5pm-6pm. The team also has numerous community service type duties throughout the school year. Megan also works a part-time job so that she has some extra spending money and she has not forgotten about her faith in God as she attends Mass on Sunday evenings at 5pm. Megan says juggling the academics and athletics can be demanding if you’re not organized and have good time management. When Megan does have some down time, she enjoys having a coffee and just relaxing and talking with with friends.
When Megan was asked about being so far away from home, she said that her mom and dad and brothers try to make it out as often as they can but that it is indeed far away. She said each of them come out separately when they can, splitting it up so that someone is out on a somewhat regular basis. She said her brother Jared really likes the State of Wyoming as well and she can “possibly see him moving out here” but isn’t certain about that right now. Her mom will be coming out to visit at the end of this month and Megan is really looking forward to that visit.
Megan, who is in her senior year academically and majoring in elementary education, with an extra semester in the fall of 2025 for student teaching, said that she can see herself staying in Wyoming at least for a couple years after graduation because she likes it so much. She feels that it’s possible she’ll move back to Pennsylvania eventually. She does miss her family, they are a “close family,” and she does miss the Lehigh Valley at times.
In talking about the Lehigh Valley, Megan made it a point to say that she has also been working with the Lehigh Valley Health Network (LVHN) at their Summer Impact Athlete Clinics, teaching cheerleading to young attendees. Megan said she feels it’s important for her that she gives back to the local cheer community where she experienced the sport and grew to love it. Megan hopes to instruct at another LVHN clinic in the summer of 2025.
Megan has plans to get a Master’s Degree in Psychology to supplement her Education Degree in hopes it will make her more competitive for a teaching job. Megan plans on teaching elementary school students one day, which according to Coach Guerrero’s comment about Megan already being a good instructor, makes her well on her way to being one of the best teachers for our next generation.
