Hi! Longtime lurker and show watcher here. I have been in the NFL Cheerleading industry and just about every other cheerleading industry there is and I wanted to post some possible explanations for some of the veteran cuts. I know when you're trying out for a team you're pretty much competing against your demographic(hair color, build, etc) and most teams do not want two people who look too much alike(I don't just mean hair color, I mean the overall appearance) unless they are trying to play off a "twin" situation. So if you notice they put Hannah and Claire in the same group who are both more curvy, more pale, redheads with amazing technique. They had Dani and Victoria in the same group(long legged blondes) Shannan and Meredith, Lexi and Jessica, Lisa and Cassie(they don't look alike but from a field perspective), etc you'll see the pattern if you pay attention, Kelli even made a comment saying she'd take Meredith over Shannan. So I believe the ultimate decision came down to Claire vs Hannah. Hannah voicing her concerns with the virus probably didn't help her in this situation, especially when it was a more competitive year as far as upping the glam of the team. I'm sure they looked for any reason to cut who they wanted to cut to make room for who they wanted. Which as unfair as it can seem, it's just the industry. I'm sure I could be explaining this better/more examples but you get the point lol.
