Sallisaw cheerleader signs to cheer at Connors State College
Sallisaw senior cheerleader is going to get to take care of two desires at once, and she made it all possible with one “John Hancock.”
Buckner signed a certificate of intent to cheer at Connors State College in a signing ceremony Thursday afternoon at Paul Post Field House.
“I picked Connors (State) because the day I walked in, it made me feel like home,” Buckner said. “The second I shook my coach Clint’s (Maxcey) hand, he easily won me over. I just knew that I needed to be here (in Warner).”
The other desire is to become a nurse. “Their nursing program I know is one of the best in Oklahoma,” Buckner said. “That’s originally what I wanted to do. Once the cheer team was everything I wanted it to be, from an academic standpoint, (Connors State College) was perfect. Everything was just to my liking. It was everything I wanted and needed.”
Maxcey believes he literally has a (Lady) Diamond in the rough.
“She has spectacular drive,” Maxcey said. “She is a hard worker. She picks up on skills very quickly. She is a very strong girl. She is definitely a gem. She will immediately step in and become a useful athlete. She is going to be indispensable.” In fact, the Sallisaw senior cheerleader has already started her Connors State College cheerleading career.
“I’ve already started,” Buckner said. “I’m there every single Thursday and every Sunday, so it’s kind of gotten me acclimated to the team. Now, it just feels natural.”
Being at a junior college, Buckner will have as many as three years of eligibility.
“Interesting on years of eligibility in competitive cheer, three at the junior college level and five at the four-year level,” Maxcey said. “It’s about years competed. We only have one competition at the end of the year. It’s all about where you stand at the end of the year, and whether or not you’ve used up that (one) year of eligibility. There’s a lot of opportunity to continue to perform and compete at a high level.”
To say Buckner is ecstatic about finalizing being a cheerleader at the collegiate level is an understatement.
“Words cannot not even express how excited I am,” she said. “I’m very much looking forward to it.”
