Megan Pierce signs to cheer at Rocky Mountain College
- Klas Stolpe
- 7 hours ago
- 4 min read
JDHS Crimson Bears senior will take spirit to Billings, Montana’s top cheer program
By Klas Stolpe
Juneau Independent
Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé senior Megan Pierce signed last Wednesday in the JDHS commons, among friends and family, to attend Rocky Mountain College and join the Battlin’ Bears cheer team in Billings, Montana.
“I chose Rocky Mountain because of the amazing interactions I had with the educators and coaches at the school,” Pierce said. “The staff have been outstanding with communication, and I truly felt supported and heard whenever I asked questions or had concerns with athletics and academics. My coach was actually the one who reached out to me first to ask about my future plans and whether I had chosen a program yet. It was great to be able to chat, and have calls with Coach Latisha about RMC and the history of the program.”
RMC Admissions Counselor and Head Cheer Coach Latisha Demarais said, “We are mostly known for our good character. We are very picky about who comes into our program for the reason that our team culture is so unique. We never fall into the stereotypes that sometimes come with our sport. We are kind and our coaching staff is able to pull out max potential in all of our athletes if they have good character — which is what I see in Meg.”
‘Rocky Cheer’ competes in the NAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletes) as part of the Frontier Conference. They made their competitive debut in 2023 and in 2024 became the first collegiate program in Montana to qualify for the NCA Collegiate National Championships in Daytona Beach, Florida, and placed third. They have qualified for the 2026 national championships and will compete April 8-11 at the same location.
“Our team culture is our top priority for RMC Cheer,” RMC coach Demarais said. “We are known for kindness and supporting the greater cheer community of Montana. We are widely supported on campus and faculty and staff know the cheerleaders to be great students, responsible, and engage in class. We travel around and do clinics through what we call Montana Cheer Experts and spread our knowledge that comes from our coaching staff being so known and involved with the national scale of cheerleading as national competitors, worlds athletes, and varsity spirit. We want our athletes to accomplish much more than us, so we teach them how. We are known as Montana's Cheer Team to the cheer community here for these reasons as well as being the first MT College team to ever compare at a major brand in 2023-2024 at NCA College Nationals, where we competed all girl. We are also the only MT cheer program to have two teams under one program consisting of both all girl and coed. We also give the largest scholarship opportunities out of all college programs in the state.”
Pierce was part of the JDHS cheer teams 2026 USA SPIRIT National Championship in Anaheim, California last month.
“I believe I am bringing a positive attitude and a coachable spirit to the team,” Pierce said. “Because RMC requires tumbling, I will need to spend time this summer developing the skills required. The amazing part is that my coaches have said they will help teach me once I arrive. Coming from Alaska, this means a lot. I have had almost no access to cheer or gymnastics gyms where I could learn to tumble, so it feels incredible to know that coaches see potential in me and had faith in me enough to sign me even without those required skills yet.”
Pierce hasn’t chosen a major, but plans to enter the Occupational Therapy Program at RMC.
“Cheer truly means the world to me,” Pierce said. “It has given me the opportunity to grow and reveal who I am as a person, both on and off the mat. Through cheer, I’ve learned confidence, resilience, and the value of pushing myself to become better every day. The best advice I can give is to put yourself out there. Looking back, even earlier this season, I would not have believed that I would be signing with a college cheer team. Because of the platform I created on my Instagram and other social media accounts, I was able to connect with coaches across the country. Believe that you can do anything and don’t leave anything to doubt.”
Cheer fans will have one last chance to see Pierce and her JDHS teammates under the guidance of coach Carlene Nore as they compete Tuesday in the 2026 ASAA/First National Bank Alaska Cheer State Championship Competion at Anchorage’s Alaska Airlines Center. The Crimson Bears will then cheer for the boys and girls basketball teams at state beginning Wednesday.
“Megan has been worked hard and come so far this last year,” JDHS coach Nore said. “She is a wonder student, teammate and person. I know she will be a great asset to any team. We are beyond proud of her and all her hard work. We can’t wait to see where cheer takes her.”
RMC coach Demarais noted what high school cheerleaders can expect competing in college.
“A higher caliber,” Demarais said. “It's hard, there's a lot of eyes on us here and a LOT of pressure. Everyone wants to know what our next move will be with the program and we need to represent well in all areas at all times academically and character wise. They can expect to come to a program where skills are built in the weight room. Coaches can't make your dreams happen if you aren't willing to work in every area.”
• Contact Klas Stolpe at klas.stolpe@gmail.com.
