Washington County Enterprise-Leader
Smith Overcomes Disappointment
PRAIRIE GROVE SENIOR SIGNS TO CHEER WITH JOHN BROWN UNIVERSITY
PRAIRIE GROVE — The disappointment of not making the varsity cheer squad her senior year hasn’t kept Prairie Grove senior Grace Smith from pursuing her dream.
In March, Grace signed a national letter of intent to cheer for John Brown University, of Siloam Springs, a springboard toward earning a degree in graphics design.
Right after the school year began when Grace was a sophomore the family moved from Farmington to Prairie Grove. Sydney Williams, who was part of the 2015-2016 varsity cheer squad, recalls the extent of how much Grace wanted to cheer was evident. Although tryouts for the Tiger cheer squad had been held the previous spring, Grace found a way to stay involved.
“She was too late, she wanted to be a part of the team, so she tried out for manager,” Williams said.
Grace became a manager as a sophomore and at the end of the school year tried out for the cheer squad. Williams said cheer coach Rachel Dixon sensed Grace’s intense desire to be a cheerleader and was hoping Grace would make the squad.
“When she made it, we we were all just really happy for her,” Williams said. “She had a little trouble getting all the cheers right because she hadn’t been here that long, but she worked really hard at it and practiced.”
Grace counts cheering her junior
junior year as among the highlights of her three years at Prairie Grove High School.
“It was nice to be able to do what I loved and Prairie Grove made it an amazing experience,” Grace said. “I was glad to be a part of a community that supports students in all they do and I made some really good friends doing it.”
Brittany Brazell became Grace’s best friend and she also made an impression on Williams, then a senior, playing the role of the beloved Prairie Grove mascot, Maverick the Tiger.
“She really enjoyed working on the cheer team, we bonded that year,” Williams said.
Last summer, Grace tried to get back into tumbling prior to her senior year, but wound up with bruised nerves in her shoulder and had to relinquish the effort. She found a way to turn that setback into a comeback by coaching Prairie Grove’s fourth- grade pee wee cheerleaders, including her younger sister, Kylea, 10, currently in fourth grade.
“My sister was in that, it was also a way I could invest what I have learned these past four years into these girls that look up to me and it was really fulfilling,” Grace said.
Kylea has monitored Grace’s responses to every challenge and what Grace has freely received from the joy of cheering is a thrill she wants to impart to her younger sister.
“My sister has gotten her inspiration for cheer and dance from me,” Grace said. “Trying out for a college team, I wanted to show her if you do love something, keep trying and never give up.”
Grace will graduate from Prairie Grove High School next month with honors and also has an academic scholarship at JBU.