By Chris Cox

Ever since arriving at Cashion seven years ago, cheer coaches Amber Hobgood and Casi Williams have been trying to get the school to recognize the cheer squad as what they are, great athletes. “I’m not going to lie, when we first got here, we were still called cheer sponsors,” Hobgood says. “I think by winning Game Day runner-up two years in a row, we finally got some respect from other coaches in the school. The other coaches realize cheer is a sport and is not as easy as it looks. It’s not just about waiving pom poms and wearing a skirt.”

Getting Cashion to the level of recognition they deserve took a lot of hard work from Hobgood, Williams, and all the cheerleaders who have gone through the program the last seven years. “When Casi and I got here, our school didn’t even compete,” Hobgood says. “To come from a squad just doing roundoffs to where we are now shows that these girls are not afraid to put in the hard work.”

Like most teams in every sport, that hardworking mentality is driven by the seniors. “I hate to call anybody out because we don’t want anybody to get a big ego,” Hobgood says. “But our I feel like our seniors, Baylie Frazier and Zoe Slimp, are both our leaders.”

Hobgood says both of those girls are good leaders because they aren’t afraid to speak their minds. “They aren’t afraid to say the things Casi and I want to say but can’t say,” Hobgood says.

With just two seniors, Cashion is bound to return the majority of their roster next year and Hobgood says she’s already seeing some girls who appear to be ready to step into those leadership roles. “Averee Gray, Jaidyn Hudson and Reese Williams are all good leaders,” she says. “They will all be valuable assets to our squad.”

With the success Cashion cheer has had in competition, and the number of students expressing interest in cheer, Hobgood believes Cashion can eventually get to multiple squads. “I think we can get to the point where we have two squads,” Hobgood says. “One that is just game day, where the girls show up for games and have that spirit. Another that is just girls ready to compete or do both.”

The Cashion roster includes Baylie Frazier (Sr), Zoe Slimp (Sr), Avery Cotter (Jr), Cloee Cherry (Jr), Averee Gray (Jr), Jaidyn Hudson (Jr), Cheyanne Martinez (Jr), Evan Ratcliff (Jr), Bailey Garrett (So), Kaylee Gilliand (So), Lauren Jenkins (So), Raylee Nance (So), Margo Priest (So), Reese Williams (So), Bella Butler (Fr), Cadence Dunn (Fr), Abby Hobgood (Fr), Sierra McCracken (Fr), and Megan Shafer (Fr).