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From Bulldogs to Tigers: SHS duo joins Mizzou cheer team
SIKESTON – From Sikeston High School to the University of Missouri, Sikeston class of 2023 graduates Blair Durham and Justis Taylor will officially be cheering their freshman year at Mizzou this fall.
Durham has been cheering for 12 years, and Taylor for a year and a half.
Taylor said he and Durham shared the same math class, which ultimately sparked his interest in cheering.
“She would always show me videos of her tumbling at the clinics and just hearing the audio, everyone was always so supportive in the background and that made me think, ‘Wow, I kind of want to be a part of that,’” Taylor said.
Taylor said afterward he began doing research and contacted a former cheerleader, who began giving him all the details about the cheer team.
Durham and Taylor began talking about why they selected Mizzou, and Durham said she has always wanted to cheer for Mizzou.
“It’s always been a lifelong dream of mine to cheer at Mizzou, I started cheering when I was in third grade, and I just progressively worked my way up,” Durham said. “I just love cheer; cheer is like my heart and soul.”
Taylor said he has only visited one other college than Mizzou, and he has been a Mizzou supporter since his freshman year of high school. Taylor also mentioned that he walked into the college adviser’s office his freshman year and began asking questions about Mizzou, so he felt it was the right fit for him.
“I always knew Mizzou was the place for me,” Taylor said. “There are so many organizations there.”
Durham and Taylor said they never imagined when they started high school they would be heading to Mizzou to cheer together in college.
Durham described the team tryout process as a two- to three-day process that lasted almost all day and seemed more like a practice than a tryout. Taylor and Durham mentioned the college tryouts were more relaxed than high school tryouts.
“When we went to tryouts, we just got to meet everybody and talk to them,” Durham said. “We had our little name tags on, and we got to pick people that we wanted to stunt with or partner up with.”
Taylor said the first day was more hands-on.
“We had to find a stunt group or stunt partner, so that takes a lot of social interaction, so we had to chat and communicate with a lot of people,” he said.
Durham said they finished clinics at 3 p.m. on Saturday and found out they made the squad later that night at 9 p.m.
Durham and Taylor both said they had to skip their senior prom to try out, but it was all worth it.
“Yeah, we missed prom, but now we are D (division) 1,” Taylor said.
Taylor and Durham said everyone who tried out was in a GroupMe (message app), and they shared a list of who made the team; if your name wasn’t on the list, you didn’t make it.”
Durham said there were 75 people who tried out.
“And they just posted a picture of all of our names and listed them for all-girls and co-ed, and we just got to go through and find our names,” Durham said.
Durham said she and her family were at a restaurant when they learned she had made the squad. She described the joy she and her mother felt when they saw her name on the list.
“I just wanted to scream and jump — and twirl,” Durham said. “I just started shaking, and my adrenaline was going, and my mom was screaming.”
Taylor was ecstatic when he saw his name. Taylor was alone in his hotel room when he discovered the news. Taylor said his mother was unable to attend since his brother had prom, but when he heard the news, he began screaming with excitement and highlighted how his cheer story is unique.
“I actually did scream,” Taylor said. “I have a different kind of story than other people, so for me to make the cheer team, I just thought it was really good on my behalf, and it kind of goes back to showing that when you’re dedicated, anything is possible.”
Durham and Taylor said it hasn’t hit them yet that they are Division 1 cheerleaders, but they can’t wait to start their freshman year cheering.
“I’m so excited for game days, just seeing all the people in the stadium for football games and basketball games,” Durham said.
Taylor expressed his excitement for the games as well.
“Especially football, I think football will be really exciting, and I’m just happy to be a part of it,” he said.
Taylor and Durham said they are also excited about trying out for the national team.
For the national team, they would get to go to Daytona, Florida, and compete, and they are wanting to be a part of that as well.
Taylor and Durham expressed gratitude for the community’s support and expressed excitement about representing Sikeston at Mizzou.
“I am excited to represent Sikeston, and I know that we can make them proud,” Durham said. “I know that they are already proud of us — the whole community, and we feel their support.”
Taylor added: “Me and Blair are two dedicated individuals, and we are really good at what we do. We’re very well-rounded, and there’s not a doubt in my mind that we won’t make Sikeston happy.”