The Bison cheerleaders entertain the crowd with one of their more difficult stunts. The cheerleaders put in many hours of practice to prepare for games. This season the cheerleaders helped keep the Bisons motivated and the crowd boisterous with their cheers, chants and stunts. Harding's football and basketball games would not be complete without the Bison squad boosting up the teams' spirits as well as the crowd's enthusiasm. This year's squad practiced four days a week and cheered in the games, making cheerleading a time-consuming sport. There were no scholarships available for cheerleaders, so the desire to work and do their best came from an inner inspiration. "We want to improve ourselves every game, so we work hard in practice to reach that goal," senior co-captain Holly Dawson said. The squad challenged themselves with daring new stunts to perform at all the games. Over four years, the girls have improved their stunt teams and have grown to trust each other, said co-captain Candace Colon. "It makes a difference that it is the same girls you've been working with for four years, because you grow together, learn from each other and trust each other," Colon said. "We really are very close friends away from the sport, which shows up when we cheer." The cheerleaders this year were successful due to this foundation of experience: seven seniors were on the 15-person squad. With Colon, Dawson, Heather Fox, Liza Freeman, Christy Samuels, Jennifer Shappley and Anna Wheeler leaving the squad, the younger members had to take new leader266 athletics ship roles. "This year we incorporated the freshmen in our stunt teams so they can gain experience to lead the new girls in the stunts," Colon said. The cheerleading squad could not be so successful if it wasn't for their sponsor, Kellee Blickenstaff, the squad said. "She is the inspiration of the team," they said. "She takes care of everything we need. She's our spiritual leader, our friend and our morn away from home." Even though many of the seniors were graduating, there was a positive excitement about next year's squad. -Heather Gray Senior Heather Fox yells encouragement to the football players from the sideline during the game against West Alabama. Fox was one of the seven seniors on the squad. - - - ---- - - Photo by Daniel Dubois
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