Not much is known about how the NFL season will proceed amid the COVID-19 pandemic, but if games are played as scheduled and Colts cheerleaders appear on the sidelines, Johnson County will be well represented.
Of the 26-woman cheerleading roster, six are from Johnson County, and it was southside and Johnson County dance studios that birthed the careers of all six of those cheerleaders.
The paths of Rachel Janitz, of Greenwood, and Lanie Pryor, of Franklin, intertwined far before they joined the Colts squad. Both started at The Dance Refinery just north of Greenwood, and both were cheerleaders for their respective high schools, they said.
“I grew up mostly dancing and then tried out for cheerleading in high school and I just thought it would be something I would love,” said Janitz, who is entering her fourth season with the Colts. “I loved the atmosphere of the Colts. I’m a success story. I went to college and took a six-year break from performing. I told myself if I felt something was missing, I would get back to it. I had girls who danced in my studio who were Colts cheerleaders, and I relied on my former dance studio and role models.”
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Pryor, who will make her debut with the Colts this year, has known Janitz since middle school.
“I grew up cheering and dancing for my school basketball and football teams and at The Dance Refinery,” Pryor said. “I went to (University of Indianapolis) and like Rachel, I took time off and went to grad school, and the long break made me want to do it again. On top of that, Rachel being on the team was something that made me look forward to it. The friend I was so close to growing up reconnected and it was a huge help, so I decided to be on the team with everyone else.”
A third cheerleader, Grace Bowling, of Greenwood, also started out at The Dance Refinery, although she also spent time at Tippy Toes School of Dance in Indianapolis before joining the Butler University dance team, which was coached by a former Colts cheerleader, said Bowling, who is heading into her second season with the Colts.
“Our coach was a prior Colts cheerleader who encouraged and molded us for the next step of our careers and inspired us to take the leap,” Bowling said.
Another trio of Johnson County cheerleaders, Megan Laugle, of Whiteland, Katie James, of Greenwood, and Vanessa Wahl, of Greenwood, all crossed paths before they were on the same Colts cheerleading roster.
Laugle, who is in her second season, began dancing at La Rose Dance Academy in Franklin when she was just 3 years old.
“I grew up dancing,” Laugle said.
James, who is also in her second season, had a similar upbringing, starting at La Rose Dance Academy at an even younger 2 years old.
“I’ve been in competitive dance my entire life. I cheered in high school and after I graduated, I knew being a Colts cheerleader was a dream of mine. Vanessa was a great mentor for me on my first season with the team. I still teach dance and encourage students to go after their dreams and keep pushing hard,” James said.
Wahl, in her fourth season, started off with Stage 1 Dance Academy in Greenwood and later La Rose Dance Academy before moving to Los Angeles. Homesick, she eventually moved back and joined the Colts squad, she said.
“I was missing home and my mom said, ‘If you move home, you’ll need to have a job,’” Wahl said. “She recommended me trying out for the team, and that’s how I found the program.”
For now, the Colts home schedule is set to kick off Aug. 13 in a game against the Philadelphia Eagles, with the home opener scheduled for Sept. 20 versus the Minnesota Vikings.
