By Angie Ledbetter

Blair Wilkinson hopes her senior year is the year the  South Panola competitive cheer squad breaks the top five at the Universal Cheerleading Association National Championship.

Blair, cheer captain, has been cheering since sixth grade on the squad where her mother, Tammy, is the cheer coach.

The South Panola cheerleading squad is always an underdog at nationals, where they have competed for nine years straight, according to Blair.

“Getting sixth just gave us a reason to keep pushing this year,” she said, referring to the squad’s sixth place finish in the national championships last February in Florida.

“Orlando is the reason I cheer because we compete against squads from all over the country that have 4,000-5,000 kids at their school so they can pick who they want to be on their squad. We’ve always been the underdogs but I wouldn’t say we are now. I think we really proved ourselves last year that we can hang with the big dogs.”

Blair likes the adrenaline, competitiveness and seeing hard work pay off from being on a competitive squad.

Blair said she loves cheering for her mom and it is not really that tough.

“We have a relationship where she’s my coach in the gym and she’s my mom when we leave the gym,” she said. “We don’t bring cheerleading into our house. She’s my best friend, my teacher, somebody who inspires me, someone who pushes me if I want to give up and to become the best person I can be. ”
Wilkinson considers herself a leader on the team as she maintains a 4.0 GPA. She said it is all about time management with school, working and cheering.

She is in every honor society that is offered and serves as student council president for the second year.

“I’m very dedicated to my school work,” she said. “Other than God and my family, it’s at the top of my list.

“I want to say a special thanks to my mom, (cheer coaches) Trey (Griffin) and Mrs. Sara Helen (Ware) for all of their hard work they put in,” Blair said. “I couldn’t do it without them and I’m very blessed.”

Tammy praised her daughter’s leadership ability with the squad.

“Blair is one of the best leaders on the floor we’ve had in years,” she said. “She leads by example and pushing hard every single practice even when things are going wrong. When she walks into the door at the gym, she leaves it all outside.”

There is a line drawn between mom and coach.

“I don’t think I’m harder on her because she’s my daughter and I’m very conscious of that but I have been accused of that,” Tammy said. “She follows the same rules everybody else does. I love coaching her and it’s a very special bond for us.”

After graduation Wilkinson plans to attend Northwest to get a degree in nursing and wants to become a helicopter flight nurse.