For Henryetta High School cheer coach Kristin Hargis it’s been a case of “be careful what you wish for”. “I was a cheerleader here and during homecoming in my senior year, they asked me to write down what my career goal was. Well, I wrote down that I wanted to become a high school teacher and replace my cheerleader coach, Ms. Sontag ‘when she was old and tired’. Yes, I wrote that.” Hargis laughed. 

Hargis went on to college and eventually ended back up at her alma mater where she did, in fact, end up replacing her old coach. But only because she moved away-not because she was old and tired. Hargis has built up the cheer program at Henryetta to the point where they qualified to go to the state Game Day competition last year. But then the pandemic struck. “Just before state, Covid hit us hard, and we ended up having to withdraw which was a real bummer. But we qualified for the state cheer this year, so we’ll get another chance,” said the Knights cheer coach. “I see a lot more confidence in the squad this year even going down to some of our new members which has really surprised me.”

One of the seniors on the squad and one of three male cheerleaders is Ty Reid who said his involvement in cheer began as a joke. “As a joke, I bet one of my teachers in seventh grade about trying out and just shrugged it off because I had no cheer or tumbling experience at all. But I guess I had some natural ability because I made the team and got a lot of compliments and have really enjoyed it. I was shy at first but I’ve made a lot of new friends and it pushed me out of my comfort zone,” said Reid.

Ty says one of his strengths is his strength which helps him be a peacemaker at times and helps in the co-ed stunts.

One of the highlights of his time as a Knight came in his sophomore year when his father passed away and the other sophomore cheerleaders brought him breakfast there at the hospital. “It was a small thing but it meant a lot to me,” said Reid.

After he graduates next spring, Ty plans to do an internship in tumbling for three years, get a business degree and open his own tumbling gym.