Hail State: Local grad earns spot on Mississippi State cheer squad
El Dorado’s Autumn Parker found out Friday she had earned a spot on the Mississippi State coed cheerleading squad. Parker, a recent graduate of El Dorado, was a fouryear member of El Dorado’s varsity cheerleading team.
“This is an incredibly hard goal to accomplish but she put in the work and came out with a spot on the team,” said El Dorado cheer coach Tab Bledsoe. “I am so proud of her hard work and determination and can’t wait to see her on the SEC sidelines.”
Parker, also a Lady Cat soccer player, has Bulldog blood in her veins.
“I chose Mississippi State because I absolutely love the school and have grown up attending many football games since both of my parents are alumni of MSU,” Parker said. “I was actually born in Starkville, which is affectionately known as Starkvegas. As I started looking at colleges, I fell in love with Mississippi State’s combination of a big SEC atmosphere and a small close-knit community. I knew that was the place for me and it would be an absolute dream to cheer there.”
Parker finished high school with a 4.41 grade point average, ranking No. 5 in El Dorado’s graduating class. She plans to study engineering at Mississippi State and said she’s looking into environmental and biomedical engineering.
Earning one of the 11 female spots on the squad was no easy feat. Parker listed a number of twists and flips she had to perform before being select
ed. Due to COVID-19, applicants were required to submit a video that included a personal introduction, game-day sideline chant and fight song, tumbling and stunting by May 15.
After that portion, candidates were selected to participate in a zoom interview that was conducted by the three spirit squad coaches on May 21.
“On May 22nd, Coach Chris sent an email congratulating me and offering me a position on the 2020-21 MSU co-ed squad and asked me to accept or decline the offer. And I accepted,” Parker said.
“For the video submission I had to first give a short introduction and explain why I wanted to be an MSU cheerleader. The next section I performed the gameday chant and then the fight song; both included a standing tuck in it. Then, I had to do two tumbling passes. Mine were a running back handspring tuck and a running back handspring full twisting layout on hard mat. For the stunts, I did four different series of elite stunts including a rewind, back handspring full up, front handspring, and a hand in hand.”
For Parker, the spot she earned was a nice consolation after seeing her senior soccer season snatched away. Playing center defense, she was three-year All-Conference and All-State as a sophomore.
“It was extremely disappointing to have missed out on my last year of soccer, but it gave me the chance to focus more on my cheer skills. I think that quarantine really allowed me to put more focus on my dream,” she said. “This summer I hope to stunt and tumble as much as possible so I can be prepared to cheer in Davis Wade Stadium. I also hope to enjoy the beach a little and some local sand volleyball.”
Coach Bledsoe said Parker’s dance background also played a role in her cheerleading success.
“I’d also credit Amber Michael at Bravo (Dance Centre) for her grace and poise,” said Bledsoe. “Honestly, she came to me as a great athlete and it was a great four years of having her talent on the team.”
“She never missed a beat as she has been training for this for at least two years, traveling to a gym in Ruston along with TNT weekly to train co-ed stunts and tumbling with Jay Willis. He gets to take the credit for her tumbling and stunting skills,” Bledsoe added.
Parker also acknowledged her participation in other sports.
“Dance and soccer were so very helpful in this journey,” she said. “They both helped my athleticism, but more importantly they taught me hard work and dedication. They installed in me a great work ethic and taught me the value in teamwork.”
Parker said she’s looking forward to moving to Starkville. Before she takes the next step in her academic path, she credited the people in El Dorado who helped her along the way.
“I would first like to thank God for blessing me with this wonderful opportunity. He gave me the strength to do this,” she said. “I also am so very thankful for my stunt and tumble coach, Jay Willis aka Heavy. He helped me so very much to get to where I am today and is truly one of the best coaches out there. I would also like to thank my high school cheer coach, Tab Bledsoe. She was such wonderful help over these four years, especially this last month in preparing me. Both of them care for me so much and I’m so thankful for them. I love them both very much,” she said. “There have been so many supportive friends and family that have helped me that I can’t name them all. I just hope that I can be a positive impact on other people’s lives so that encouragement can be paid forward.”