Cheer Cats land Dade’s Whitney Craig East Ridge‘s Stone to suit up for Lady Bobcats
If Whitney Craig’s signing day was any indication, the new Georgia Northwestern Cheer Cat may have her own personal cheering section at Bobcat basketball games next season.
The highly-likeable and effervescent Dade County senior was showered with hugs and happy tears from friends and cheer squad teammates before and after she signed on with Coach Karen Stoker’s Cheer Cats in a recent ceremony.
“I had the opportunity to scout Whitney as a basketball cheerleader and we expect great things from her,” Stoker said. “She’s a perfect example of a perfect spirit cheerleader. She has lots of energy and a beautiful smile. Her motions are spoton and her jumps are great. I was particularly impressed with her pike and hurdler. Her stunting abilities are off the chart.
“During tryouts, she main-based an assisted one-man, with a press to extension and a fulldown. It just seemed effortless. Whitney controlled the stunt very well. Her strength is amazing and will play a huge role in the stunts we perform.”
Craig, a cheerleader since sixth grade, said she was thrilled to know she would get to keep cheering in college.
“It means a lot to me because it means I get to pursue something I’ve done for a long time,” she explained. “Cheerleading is my passion. I just love it and I’m excited that I get to keep doing it after high school. If cheerleading is as great in college as it is in high school, then I’m ready for it.”
“I’m ambitious and out-going and I think being a part of the team is going to be amazing,” she continued. “I love making new friends and I can’t wait to make new ones with my new team as we all do something we love together. My coach had told me a lot about the (Cheer Cats) program. He told how great it was and how the nice the coaches are and that really drew me to it.”
“She’s a four-year varsity cheerleader and just a great kid,” said Dade County head cheer coach Josh Hurst, who also had Craig in class as a student. “She has the biggest heart of anybody out there and she always has a smile on her face. She’s very athletic. She’s always the first one to show up, the last one to leave and she wants to make everything as perfect as it can be, in class and in athletics.
“I’ve got a special place in my heart for her. She asked me to escort her during Homecoming last year, so I’m seriously sad to see her leave.”
Stoker said she thinks Craig will be a leader for her squad.
“With only one cheer-athlete returning from this (past) season, having a ready-made leader is important,” the coach added, “Whitney truly has a passion for cheering. She will be a tremendous asset to both our spirit and competition cheer teams.”
Craig said she plans to major in Early Childhood Education.
It took nearly 10 years for the Georgia Northwestern Lady Bobcats to get their first recruit from East Ridge (Tenn.) High School.
It took less than 10 days to get their second.
Just about a week after picking up Kyanna Kendrick, head coach David Stephenson crossed back into the Volunteer State to collect the signature of Lady Pioneer senior guard Jayla Stone.
“It feels very good to start a new journey and know I’m getting to play college basketball,” Stone said. “I’m excited for it.”
The lightning-fast guard was an AllRegion and All-Region Tournament selection for the Lady Pioneers this past season. She averaged nearly 23 points a game and finished with over 1,800 points for her high school career.
“She’s a great young lady and an amazing basketball player,” East Ridge coach LeBron Williams stated. “She’s really been the bell cow for our offense. She did it all - scoring, ballhandling, the whole nine yards, but it’s her ball-handling skills that I think will translate to the next level. She has great speed and quickness. She’s kind of a slasher who can get to the hole.”
Stephenson said his team was getting someone who knows how to fill up the ol’ peach basket.
“We’re getting a scorer,” he said. “One thing we’ve had a hard time with lately is putting the ball in the basket, so we’re emphasizing that in recruiting and trying to find people that can score.
“When I watched her play, she was like a little atom out there, bouncing all over the place. She’s a speed demon and she gives us another ball-handler. I’m super excited to get her and being able to continue to build this relationship with East Ridge is huge.”
Apart from her speed, Stone said she likes to be a motivator on the court.
“I’ll bring a lot of spirit to the team,” she added. “I want to keep everyone’s heads up and keep them in a good mood. I like that we’re really kind of starting over (at Georgia Northwestern). Coach (Stephenson) is going out and getting a lot of new people and bringing them in. I like to meet new people and find out how they are different from me.”
Stone is also a track standout at East Ridge. Among her personal bests are a 13.74 seconds in the 100 meters, 16.04 in the 100-meter hurdles, 51.34 in the 300-meter hurdles, 16-feet, 4-inches in the long jump and 31-1.25 in the triple jump.
Stone said she wants to major in Criminal Justice. A criminal justice program at Northwestern will prepare students for corrections security, investigative and police adminstration fields. The curriculum will range from classes such as principles of law enforcement to constitutional law for criminal justice.