{"id":7519,"date":"2026-04-22T08:29:08","date_gmt":"2026-04-22T13:29:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/spectator.cuchicago.edu\/?p=7519"},"modified":"2026-07-23T19:58:06","modified_gmt":"2026-07-23T19:58:06","slug":"former-cheer-and-stunt-athletes-say-they-were-pressured-to-compete-through-injury","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/spectator.cuchicago.edu\/?p=7519","title":{"rendered":"Former Cheer and Stunt Athletes Say They Were Pressured to Compete Through Injury"},"content":{"rendered":"

Amid allegations of athletes being pressured to compete through injuries and coaches not being present at practice, the Concordia University Chicago Cheer and Stunt teams had their 2026 seasons cancelled as questions began to appear pertaining to the culture of both teams.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In recent years, the Concordia University Chicago cheer and stunt teams have been two of the most successful programs at CUC. In their 2025 season, the cheer team made their second consecutive appearance in the Advanced All-Girl Division Three National Finals, finishing fifth in the country. The Stunt team also reached the National Championships in their sport before falling to Misericordia University, who was ranked second in the nation.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

On Feb. 11, CUC director of athletics John Jaramillo put out a <\/span>statement<\/span><\/a> announcing the cancellation of the season. That same day, it was announced that Eleese \u201cCheetah\u201d Farrar would no longer be serving as the head coach of either program.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Jaramillo said issues within the program were first brought to his attention late during the fall semester. That was when he began having conversations with Farrar. When the decision was made in early February that both seasons would be cancelled, Jaramillo spoke with the athletes before it was publicly announced.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI told them personally,\u201d Jaramillo said.<\/span>\u00a0\u201cI didn\u2019t want them to guess. I asked them questions about their experiences, and asked them what I could do to address anything. Around the same time is when the athletes heard from me that Coach Farrar was no longer with CUC.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Jaramillo declined to comment on the factors that led to CUC parting ways with Farrar, and on when that particular decision was made, citing private personnel matters.<\/span><\/p>\n

Athletes from both the cheer and stunt teams said they had been pressured to compete through injuries.<\/p>\n

\u201cDuring practice, I developed chest pains,\u201d said Hyriany Borjas, a sophomore on the cheer team. \u201cWe were mandated to go to a tumbling gym, and when I went there I got yelled at. During conditioning, I tried to stop because of the pain, and I was yelled at for being a wimp.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Georgia Lopez, a sophomore on the stunt team, also said that she was told to keep practicing through an injury, which has resulted in her now needing surgery.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI had a recurring injury from freshman year, so I took the summer off,\u201d Lopez said.\u00a0\u201cCoach Farrar did not take care of her athletes. If you got injured, you had to keep going. I injured my rotator cuff, and then my labrum.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Farrar did not respond to questions for this article.<\/span><\/p>\n

Another large issue surrounding the teams was the low number of athletes that each team had, and confusion over who was on each team.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIn October, an injury was reported, and the athlete participating wasn\u2019t on the roster,\u201d said Alex Sikora, the assistant athletic trainer. \u201cWe are liable for athletes; we\u2019re the first to respond to an injury. If we don\u2019t know they exist, we can\u2019t contact them. It started with one, and there were more after that.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Beyond documentation issues, the low number of eligible athletes on each team forced higher-level athletes to practice routines with athletes that weren\u2019t up to the same skill level.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe had athletes that were at a level five skill level, and they had to practice with athletes that were only level one or two,\u201d Sikora said.<\/span><\/p>\n

The number of eligible athletes on each team played a role in Jaramillo\u2019s decision to cancel both of the seasons.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAs the fall semester was nearing its conclusion, we looked at the number of eligible students on each roster,\u201d Jaramillo said.\u00a0\u201cWe looked at where we are at with the rosters, and shortly after the spring semester began, we asked ourselves the question of whether we would have enough to field a team.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Low recruiting numbers were unsurprising to the athletes on the team.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cRecruiting was terrible,\u201d Lopez said. \u201cI don\u2019t think any of it was done by the coaches, it was all done by the captains on the team.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

One aspect that didn\u2019t help was the question of Farrar\u2019s commitment to the team.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThere was a lack of accountability with the coaching staff,\u201d Lopez said. \u201cCoaches didn\u2019t show up as often as they should. It was a terrible environment.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Borjas agreed with Lopez, saying that it felt like the coaches had been more committed the prior season, and that coaches wouldn\u2019t show up on time to practice, so the athletes would have to wait for them.<\/span><\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t just the athletes that noticed a lack of commitment from the coaches. Sikora said that she felt the athletes were being put on the back burner.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI feel bad for the athletes,\u201d Sikora said. \u201cYou need a coach that is present. In December, I began expressing my concerns about what everything would look like when we returned from winter break. Then we came back from break and there were two straight weeks of miscommunication and coaches not being present.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Sikora said she tried to have conversations with Farrar on multiple occasions, but Farrar wouldn\u2019t communicate with her. Sikora said there were times when she would try to communicate with Farrar about the team, and get no acknowledgement of her concerns.<\/span><\/p>\n

Both Lopez and Borjas said they were not surprised by the announcement that their respective seasons had been cancelled.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cCompared to where we were last year, we had nothing,\u201d Lopez said. \u201cThere was no way we could have had a season.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Jaramillo has already begun the process of finding someone to replace Farrar, and knows what he is looking for in a coach.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe want someone that is consistent, and has strong, caring, and empathetic leadership,\u201d Jaramillo said. \u201cThe Chicagoland area has a strong pool of talent for both athletes and coaches, and CUC has a lot to offer.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Jaramillo added that while there is no firm timetable for hiring a new coach, he would like to have someone hired by the end of the semester, so that they would be able to meet with current and incoming student athletes.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not easy to do a coaching search during the school year, but there really is no good time,\u201d Jaramillo said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sikora said that while she is sad for the athletes that won\u2019t to compete this season, cancelling the seasons was the right call.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI feel bad the athletes won\u2019t get a season, but it takes a weight off their shoulders,\u201d Sikora said. \u201cI\u2019m relieved they won\u2019t be put in positions where they aren\u2019t prepared. College is tough, we don\u2019t need to make it tougher for the athletes.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Sikora also has specific traits in mind for any prospective cheer coach.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe need someone that will take the time to know and understand their athletes,\u201d Sikora said.\u00a0\u201cThat\u2019s what makes the difference between a team staying together, and a team falling apart.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Amid allegations of athletes being pressured to compete through injuries and coaches not being present at practice, the Concordia University Chicago Cheer and Stunt teams had their 2026 seasons cancelled as questions began to appear pertaining to the culture of both teams.\u00a0 In recent years, the Concordia University Chicago cheer and stunt teams have been […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":73,"featured_media":9563,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,14],"tags":[650],"class_list":["post-7519","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-showcase","category-sports","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/spectator.cuchicago.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7519","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/spectator.cuchicago.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/spectator.cuchicago.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spectator.cuchicago.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/73"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spectator.cuchicago.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7519"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/spectator.cuchicago.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7519\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9564,"href":"https:\/\/spectator.cuchicago.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7519\/revisions\/9564"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spectator.cuchicago.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/9563"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/spectator.cuchicago.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7519"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spectator.cuchicago.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7519"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spectator.cuchicago.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7519"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}