The first days of school are pretty chaotic and unpredictable, but there are two things you can always count on: chaos, and Meet the Bison. The annual event included all of the Buffalo Bison high school athletes and teams – football, cheer, volleyball, Belles, band and track, as well as junior high football and cheer. While the junior high students were nervous to attend their first-ever Meet the Bison event, there were also nerves from the high schoolers. 

“I was extremely nervous,” junior cheer captain Alexa Sanchez said. “But honestly, I was also super excited to perform as a team for the first time this year.”

Putting on a performance takes a lot of practice, work and focus, and junior Belle captain Aimee Salazar did exactly that and more to make sure their drill team routine was perfect. 

“When practice started, we got our game face on and spent all of our time perfecting every single eight-count,” Salazar said. “It was a lot of work and dedication to make our routine what it was, but I really loved the outcome.” 

Salazar wasn’t the only one who liked the performance; the crowd seemed to enjoy it, too. 

“The Belles and cheerleaders did an awesome job at keeping the crowd on their toes,” sophomore Leilani Moore said. “School spirits were very high after their performances, and it got me super pumped for the school year.”

While the energy was high among the crowd and the athletes, the bidding was even higher. At the end of Meet the Bison, more than $16,000 had been raised in total for the athletic programs. Coach Jesus Rodriguez said he was grateful for the amount of support the community has provided. 

“I think Meet the Bison is an event that gathers the community and shows the excitement we have for the school year,” Rodriguez said. “So to have them show up and show out for us was really appreciated.”

Ending the night was the Bison Brigade with the fight song, but for senior head drum major Andie Kilgore, it was also the end of her years of performing at Meet the Bison. 

“I think it was a good way to start the year,” Kilgore said. “And it was definitely the perfect way to introduce the beginning of the end.”