Avery, Thrailkill to cheer team at Arkansas
■ The former football standouts are looking forward to their opportunity to be Razorbacks.
Matthew Avery and Kaiden Thrailkill made a name for themselves on the football field this past fall for the Siloam Springs football team.
The two Siloam Springs seniors will be around the football field this upcoming fall as well, but in a much different capacity.
Avery and Thrailkill signed letters of intent Wednesday to join the cheerleading team for the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville.
“It’s always been my dream to be an Arkansas athlete,” Avery said. “Ever since my dad (Steve Avery) played for the University of Arkansas and growing up and always hearing the stories, it’s always been my dream.
“So coming to today and being able to sign that paper that will allow me to be on the team for the next four years is something that I only dreamed about. And now that dream is becoming a reality.”
Avery has been a cheerleader at Siloam Springs for the last two years. He joined the team as a junior when he decided to not play football for the 2017 season. He re-joined the Panthers for football in 2018, where he was an all-conference linebacker and second on the team with 88 tackles.
He rejoined the cheerleading team for basketball season as the Siloam Springs Cheer Team earned a state runner-up finish at the state championships in December.
“It’s a little bit different,” Avery said of the differences between football and cheerleading. “I mean instead of throwing a 200-pound guy to the ground, you’re tossing a girl that may weigh between 100 and 115 pounds up over your head and you’re holding her there for a while. It’s a really different game and it’s a lot more precise. If you have one little finger in the wrong direction, one misplacement, the whole thing could fall. It’s a lot more specific on what to do so it really disciplines you on what to do.”
Avery also was recently named the 2019 Arkansas Boys & Girls Club Youth of the Year in March.
Thrailkill was an all-state running back for the Panthers the last two seasons, including in 2018 where he rushed for more than 1,500 yards and helped Siloam Springs reach the playoffs.
He decided several weeks ago that he didn’t want to pursue playing football in college and was just going to attend the University of Arkansas.
Thrailkill though said he’s always admired cheerleading from afar, thanks in part to his sister Kenadi being a cheerleader and attending her competitions.
“I thought it was super cool, but I just never had the time doing football,” Thrailkill said.
Thrailkill said his mom, Rachael Thrailkill, was friends with the head cheerleading coach at the University of Arkansas, and discussions there got him interested to see if he could become a Razorback cheerleader.
“I’ve had the time to get to the gym and I hit all the requirements for the tryout video and sent them my video and got accepted to try out,” he said.
Thrailkill said it will be different not playing football, but he’s looking forward to the opportunity.
“Football’s been everything in my life up to this point,” he said. “It’s definitely going to be different, but I’m really excited for the change. I think it’s going to be a new atmosphere and that’s going to be awesome.”