Athlete Spotlight: James Wood High School cheerleader Brooke Stautzenbach

By ROBERT NIEDZWIECKI | The Winchester Star

Brooke Stautzenbach

James Wood High School 18-year-old senior

Sport: Cheerleading.

Parents: Kim and John Stautzenbach

Hometown: Dover, Del., moved to Winchester at age 5

Nickname: “Brookie”

What do you love about cheerleading: I love tumbling the most. I did gymnastics for so long, so it has that same aspect in it. I like the adrenaline rush you get from tumbling.

Most memorable moment in cheerleading: Going to states all four years with my team. Getting third place this year was pretty awesome. We just really came together as a team. We knew it was our last performance, and we had to do our best with it. But we also enjoyed it at the same time and made the most out of it.

Most embarrassing moment in cheerleading: I’ve fallen a few times. Once at the school pep rally for Homecoming week a couple of years ago, I over-rotated on a tumbling pass and landed on my butt in front of everyone.

Three people you can have dinner with, dead or alive: [Gymnasts] Shawn Johnson, Nastia Liuken and Simone Biles. They’re such good athletes, so I’d like to learn about their lives and how they were able to be so successful at such young ages.

Food you can’t live without and why: I have to go with a drink. I can’t do without coffee. I like Dunkin’ Donuts’ vanilla iced coffees. I have coffee pretty much every day, and if I don’t, I get headaches.

Favorite superhero: Captain America. It’s pretty cool that he was created in a lab. I’m really into science, so I thought that was really awesome.

Favorite teacher: [James Wood’s Kim] Ringwald. She’s also my DECA adviser. I’ve been in DECA for three years, and she’s just been an awesome supporter and helper throughout all three years. She teaches marketing classes, so I’ve taken sports marketing, travel and tourism, business and marketing. I’ve learned a lot from her, not just about marketing, but also life lessons.

Favorite athlete: Nadia Comaneci

Favorite team: West Virginia University Mountaineers teams

Favorite movie: “Remember the Titans”

Favorite TV show: “Baby Daddy”

Favorite song: “Say My Name” by Destiny’s Child

Favorite ice cream flavor: Ben & Jerry’s Tonight Dough

Plans after high school: I hope to go to the University of Virginia to major in biology. I would like to be a geneticist. [My family has a history of] polycystic kidney disease, which is a genetic trait which will be passed on because it’s a dominant trait. I’d like to be able to study those kind of genes to see if there’s any way that you can find cures for those kind of things, and cancer in general. A major in biology would be another step to getting to that place in my life.

— Compiled by Robert Niedzwiecki