Even before she set foot on the Connors State campus in Warner, cheerleader Kamry Cate showed what it’s like to perform in the Cowgirl Way. 

“Kamry is a phenomenal athlete-very quick and strong and small which helps make her a good flyer,” said Connors cheer coach Clint Maxcey. “When she first reached out to me about cheering here, I told her I like people who can do a two-hand spring to a layout and she said, ‘I’ve never done that before, but I’ll give it a try.’ So, she went outside and had someone film her while she proceeded to execute that move without a spotter or being taught anything, so I knew she was fearless.” 

Kamry is from Quinton and will be a sophomore at Connors this year. She started out tumbling when she was three or four and moved to competitive cheer in fourth grade. Her high school team went to state three of her four years and finished third one year. When it came time to decide what to do after high school, Kamry already had a pretty good idea. 

“I kind of had my mind set on going to Connors because it’s fairly close to home but no one I knew was going there so I thought it would also be a chance to be on my own. I was nervous at first because I didn’t know anyone, but your teammates quickly become your family and so far, it’s been a great experience.” 

As her first year started winding down, the cheer squad was preparing for the national cheerleading competition in Daytona Beach and Kamry found herself having to become very adaptive. 

“During the spring we had a lot of turnover on the squad as we got ready for nationals,” said Maxcey. “Five or six of those changes were in Kamry’s stunt group which is kind of iffy in a group that has worked during the year to perfect a stunt. Three weeks before nationals she was working with a new back stop and a new base person. But she persevered through the changes and her group was the only one that hit both the prelims and the finals completely on their stunt. As a result, she has been learning the backstop and base positions in case she’s needed to fill in at some point.” 

Outside of cheer, Kamry is also having an impact at Connors. 

“She excels academically, is stepping up to be a good leader, and is in the running to be a team captain this year,” said Maxcey. “She also cares a lot about making sure everyone on the team feels comfortable and included.” 

That spirit of being fearless, adapting to change and caring is what has made Kamry Cate an athlete that performs in the Cowgirl Way.