Bio

Spirit Coordinator and Head Cheer Coach, Raven Gau, takes on her eighth season leading the Iowa Western Spirit program. Coach Gau has guided and led the Reiver cheer team to a pair of UCA National Championships and four World University Cup titles during her tenure. The local native, a graduate of Lewis Central High School has taken the cheer program from a team of 25 members her first season to over 80 athletes, competing in three divisions. Gau has established a culture and structure within the program which has allowed it to grow and thrive. This 2024-25 season, Coach Gau brings on a new coaching staff, new partnerships in the community, and a second competitive team.

“I am so excited to take these next steps to enhance our cheer program even more. With the addition of Solomon Spataro, Joshua Holden, Henry Leyva, and Ethan Jernigan coming on board to help my assistant, Samantha Darnall and myself guide the ship, I feel strongly that we have the best and most well-rounded collegiate cheer coaching staff in the area. On top of that our local Allstar gym, Central Athletics, has opened its doors to provide our student-athletes a second home to train consistently. All of the stars have aligned for us to take both a large and small competitive team to UCA College Nationals in Orlando, Florida in January. It is such an exciting time to be a Reiver cheerleader.”

Coach Gau is a former elite gymnast and D1A collegiate cheerleader (University of Central Florida) bringing an extensive amount of knowledge and passion to the program. She has sent countless athletes to the Division 1 level and other top cheer schools across the nation after their time at Iowa Western. Being a junior college product herself and former Reiver alumni she has become an expert at the transfer process and getting athletes to the next level. 

Stay up to date with Coach Gau and the Reiver cheer team through the 2024-25 cheer season by following them on social media. 

INSTAGRAM - @reivercheer

FACEBOOK - Iowa Western Cheerleading

X (Twitter) - @ReiverCheer