PAIGE COLE

MUSKOGEE HIGH SCHOOL

Being a good role model and teacher are important aspects of what cheer is all about for Muskogee High junior Paige Cole.

“Paige is an excellent cheerleader with magnificent skills and her tumbling is outrageous,” said coach Brittney Tolbert-Johnson, herself an MHS grad. “She is very talented in working with little kids and with our incoming freshmen.”

Her tumbling skills can probably be attributed to the 10 years she spent doing gymnastics.

“I got kind of burned out on gymnastics in the eighth grade and was looking for something to do to stay in shape and so I got into cheer and fell in love with it instantly,” said Cole.

Muskogee doesn’t take part in competitive cheer competitions, but Paige has found an outlet as a member of Luxe Cheer in Tulsa.

“I’ve gotten to travel all over- to New Orleans, Nashville, Florida and all over Texas in the past three years I’ve been in All Star cheer- and it’s helped me gain a lot of self-confidence. I’m a level five and it’s not easy but I try to be a role model there as well as on the Muskogee team which is easy because I’m kind of goofy and smiling and I love to tumble,” she laughed. She is primarily a side base in stunts though she can be a main base or even be a flyer. Though her competitive cheer team has brought her lots of accolades, one of her best memories so far was the state football championship game last December.

“At first it was really overwhelming and cold but then the players started interacting with the cheerleaders a little and then it became exciting, and it was a great experience overall,” she said.

Though she’s just a junior, Tolbert-Johnson considers Paige to be one of the team leaders which she enjoys.

“I think a good leader has to have a good positive attitude and be a role model. I like teaching the new cheerleaders each year because I remember when I was one of them. My mom is my main motivator in that regard because she was a single mom raising three kids and did a great job.”