Miss Pea Ridge named All-state cheerleader

Morganne Rhine was recently named All-state cheerleader.

“I was surprised,” Rhine said. “It is an honor.”

Also serving as Miss Pea Ridge, the senior Blackhawk cheerleader was selected to represent the city in the Miss Pea Ridge pageant this past summer. As Miss Pea Ridge, she has represented the city at several functions. “It’s been really good experience as far as community service,” she said.

She has been cheering since seventh grade. This year, the senior Blackhawks won the state championship.

“Oh, it was so exciting,” Rhine said. “It was definitely the highlight of my senior year. I think we won state my seventh-grade year, but that was seventh grade.”

“We’ve worked so hard all these years. It was just so exciting. It was a really good acompllishment for us.”

“I have worked with Morganne Rhine for two years. She has been a great leader this year on our cheer squad,” cheer coach Jamie Bunting said. “I look forward to watching her success in the future.”

The Rhine family moved to Pea Ridge from Bentonville in 2006, Morganne’s sixth-grade year. She loves the small school atmosphere. “I don’t think I would ever go back to a bigger school.”

“Whenever I came into the sixth grade, I envisioned cheerleading and stunting as just a pyramid that you climb on each other. The only thing I knew was tumbling. I was the only one who could tumble,” she said, adding that she took gymnastics for six years and dance for seven years, but taught herself to tumble on the trampoline.

She was coached through junior high and two years of high school by former coach Courtney Hurst. As a freshman, she was asked to join the competitive squad by Hurst.

“It was hard to change coaches initially,” Rhine said, adding that she loves Mrs. Bunting and enjoys learning from her.

There are four seniors on the cheer squad and two of them — Rhine and Lacey King — have been on the squad together from the beginning.

“We’ve been all the way through, for the full ride,” she said, adding that she has enjoyed her senior year helping teach the newcomers the material and cheer routines.

Rhine plans to attend the University of Arkansas, Fort Smith. Although she had previously considered majoring in physical therapy, she now considering special education. She is currently working as an aide to Mrs. Bunting’s special education class.

“I really love children. I want to do something that’s working with children,” she said. “It’s really fun, I really enjoy it. They’re awesome kids, they’re amazing.”

She is a member of FCCLA and FCA. She is the second of John and Katie Rhine’s six children.