By Erin Terry — Not all athletes have the opportunity to compete in a worldwide competition; however, senior Katelyn Deshon has. Deshon is a cheerleader for American Elite, a competition cheerleading squad in Tallmadge.
Deshon has been cheering competitively at an all-star level since she was nine years old. She became interested in cheering because her cousin was a cheerleader. Currently Deshon cheers on a small, co-ed level five team that includes eighteen girls and two boys.
Not just any cheerleading team can compete at worlds. “You have to receive a invitation to go,” Deshon said.
This year the competition was held at the ESPN Wide World of Sports at Disney World in Orlando, Florida. The competition is a three-day event. This year Deshon’s team placed 21st out of 51 teams in her division.
“We prepare all year long for worlds,” Deshon said. It is always held at the same time every year, at the end of April.
This was Deshon’s third time attending Worlds. Deshon also competes in about 10 other competitions a year all scattered out from October until April. She has traveled all around the United States to compete.
Deshon was also apart of the cheerleading squad at GlenOak for three years of her high school career. She cheered on the Varsity team this school year as captain.
Deshon plans to cheer at Mount Union next year in college as a freshman, and would love to cheer in the NFL when she is out of college.
[Updated Aug. 7, 2017: This article has been reformatted for consistency.]
