Wednesday, December 31, 1997
Clyde cheerleader wins national title
By ROY A. JONES II Regional Editor
CLYDE - Clyde High School activities may be a little scarce
during the Christmas break, but the Bulldogs have plenty to cheer
about.
For once, however, sophomore cheerleader Richard Oaxaca won't
be leading the cheers. This time he's the <I>object<I>
of the cheers - as a national champion.
Competing against the best cheerleaders from across the United
States, the versatile Oaxaca finished fourth in the "Best
Male Cheerleader" division of the National Cheerleaders Championships
at Dallas on Monday. Out of several dozen Big Country cheerleaders
in the championships, he was the only winner.
Finishing in the top five also earned Oaxaca an "All America"
designation for the fourth straight year, continuing a streak
that began when he was in the seventh grade. That's when he discovered
his talent for tumbling and for sharing his enthusiasm with classmates
and fans.
For several tense minutes, Oaxaca led the competition. It would
have been a big upset because Oaxaca was the only non-senior of
the 10 finalists.
But when he mesmerized the crowd of more than 10,000 with a
90-second, non-stop, collection of backbreaking flips, twists
and jumps - interspersed with yells - the judges vaulted Oaxaca
to the top of the heap with a 6.64 score.
With only four competitors following him, Oaxaca knew he had
All-America locked, but he wanted to win. The next senior failed
to match Oaxaca's performance, assuring Oaxaca of at least fourth
place.
But when O.J. Williams of Norman, Okla., finished his flawless
performance with a standing back flip with two twists, Oaxaca
knew long before the 8.0 score went up that he'd been dethroned.
In an instant he turned from opponent to cheerleader. He was
one of the first to congratulate the new leader.
"To tell you the truth, I was excited to lose to him.
I know how hard he had to work to do that," Oaxaca said admiringly.
The last two seniors, Jeremi Sanders of Burnet and Michael
Curtis of Odessa Permian, drew a 7.99 and a 7.17 respectively,
dropping Oaxaca to fourth.
"For a sophomore to go up against nine of the best seniors
in the United States and to beat five of them is very exciting
for me, and I just give God the credit," Oaxaca said Tuesday
from his father's home in McKinney.
Oaxaca's goal as a cheerleader is to be invited to join the
staff of the National Cheerleaders Association, sponsors of the
national championships, and to be a cheerleader at a major university.
He would have attained half his goal Monday, except he is too
young. The top five seniors are invited to join the staff, so
one of the seniors Oaxaca beat will get the position.
"That's all right. He'll get it in two years," said
his mother, Renna Cooper, an eighth-grade math teacher at Clyde.
The part-time staff members help conduct NCA cheerleading clinics,
such as the one held each summer at Hardin-Simmons University.
That's where Oaxaca and his fellow Clyde cheerleaders qualified
for the national championships.
The Clyde cheerleading team failed to make the finals in the
small coed division, which was won by Austin High School of Sugar
Land. The three-day finals drew more than 8,000 competitors.
"The crowd was awesome, busloads of people from Illinois
and California and other states cheering for their cheerleaders.
I was scared to death, but when Richard got out there he had them
all cheering for him. Crowds don't bother him. He eats it up,"
his mother said.
She said his interest in cheerleading didn't come from her,
although she was a junior high school cheerleader in Haskell.
Rather it came from his older brother, Harvey Jr., now a junior
at McMurry University. Now 19, Harvey Jr. was a cheerleader for
Clyde and also for McMurry for one year.
The boys get their competitive drive from their father, Harvey
Oaxaca, who was an All-America fullback at McMurry in the mid-1970s.
Oaxaca later coached at McMurry and at Sweetwater and is now a
middle school principal in McKinney.
The 5-foot-7-inch, 130-pound Richard credits his cheerleading
success to Michael Cone, a former All-American cheerleader at
Hardin-Simmons University and now his mentor and coach at CATS
Gym.
Since mid-summer the Clyde cheerleaders have worked out three
hours a day, either before or after school, plus "four or
five hours every Sunday," Oaxaca said. "Then I'd work
out myself an hour to an hour-and-a-half on Saturday."
It would seem Oaxaca would have time for little else, but that's
not true. He's the drum major of the band, an officer in Key Club,
active in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and made the all-star
cast in one-act play competition as a freshman.
After college, Oaxaca would like to own his own cheerleading
school, and would like to use his cheerleading skills to help
spread his faith.
"I think I might be able to go to someplace like Brazil,
where they love sports, and teach them about cheerleading and
about Christ at the same time," he said.
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Abilene Reporter-News / Texnews / E.W. Scripps Publications
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