MANHATTAN — Avery Melling was a cheerleader at Manhattan High School before she tragically passed in a rollover crash on Christmas Eve. Despite her absence this season, her coaches and teammates hope to honor her memory.
"Obviously, it was so devastating but honestly, I think we lived in days of shock," says Megan Ely, one of the cheer coaches for the Manhattan Tigers.
"These people are like best friends outside of cheer and are cheerleaders together. So, it’s more than just ripping a teammate out of the cheer program, it’s a lot," Ely says.
Avery’s other coach, Samantha Miller, is also a teacher at Manhattan High School and says her absence can be noticed across campus.
"Her locker is right across from my room, and I know Peyton has a locker right next to her. So even her locker's there and you feel that, and her classmates are feeling it when her desk is empty," says Miller.
Peyton Schuelke has been friends with Avery since kindergarten.
"I couldn’t believe it for a couple days, and when I came back to school it was definitely really different, just trying to realize that she’ll never come back," says Shuelke.
Allison Boyd, another cheerleader, describes her as someone who could make the worst and most tiring days something to look forward to.
Boyd says, "She was just a nice person to be around, and she was really funny and always made everyone smile."
"Remember her as someone who was goofy and fun and just loved to have adventure. She could be serious in times that she needed to be, but she didn’t take life so seriously," says Miller.
At Manhattan's upcoming basketball game, the team plans to perform a routine of dances Avery created and has other plans to make the rest of the season special.
Something Avery would have wanted for her teammates too.
"During her freshman year, she had to take a back seat at cheer, and she wasn't like the one in the spotlight flying and stuff. But we have so many pictures of her clapping and being so happy for the success of her teammates, so I think that really speaks to the person that Avery was," says Ely.
