What started out as a love for gymnastics grew into a love for cheerleading for Sallisaw senior Michaela Taylor and her coach, Robbi Martin, couldn’t be more pleased.

“Michaela has been with me since the seventh grade and this year made All-Region and All-State cheer,” Martin said. “She’s been a part of our program that has qualified for state in both the OSSAA competitive and Game Day competitions every year except the COVID year, and last year we were also the Class 4A Academic state champs. This year, she is our team captain as well.”

The competitive spirit started early for Michaela.

“I started out in gymnastics when I was in kindergarten and was in competitive gymnastics until I got into middle school when I got burned out on it,” Taylor said. “Then, I saw a notice coach Martin had posted about cheer tryouts and I started tumbling with them and I fell in love with it.”

Michaela was a flyer for the team’s stunts in her freshman and sophomore years and is now a main base, but that competitive spirit is still what drives her.

“I really like the competitive part of cheer,” she said. “I like the adrenaline rush and I like winning, and also like to tumble.”

During her formative years, Michaela found some role models on television.

“Growing up, I watched Nadia Comaneci and Gabby Douglas in the Olympics and they were an inspiration while I was in gymnastics,” said Taylor, who is in the National Society of High School Scholars, National Honor Society and FCA at Sallisaw High. “In cheer, I just always admired watching the varsity cheerleaders perform.”

Her competitive spirit will pay dividends in the coming years as well, as she has verbally committed to cheer next year at Oklahoma Baptist University.

“I really hadn’t thought much about cheering in college but as we were going to regional and state tryouts we drove by Shawnee and my dad mentioned OBU as a good school. So, I looked into it, reached out to the coach, went to some of their camps and practices, and they asked me to come and cheer for them, so I’ll sign with them sometime soon,” she said.

Upon her departure from Sallisaw, Michaela knows how she would like to be remembered.

“I hope they’ll remember me as someone who was determined to get what she wanted and was a good influence on the underclassmen and helped them grow,” she said.