El Dorado’s Autumn Parker will serve as captain this season in her fourth year as a Mississippi State cheerleader. Parker will be one of at least seven former El Dorado cheerleaders to be on a college squad this season.
El Dorado’s senior class of 2023 didn’t bring home a lot of athletic championships. The Lady Wildcats won their second 5A state track championship and the cheerleaders won the 5A state title for the first time.
Success can be measured in a number of ways.
It was a long ride home from Hot Springs last year for El Dorado’s cheerleaders, who made a mistake in the finals that cost them a state title. Saturday’s trip home was the same distance but it certainly didn’t feel like it.
El Dorado nailed its final routine and won the 5A-6A Game Day crown at the Arkansas State Cheer Championships. The Lady Wildcats had zero deductions and scored a whopping 97.57 in the finals, beating out runner-up Fort Smith Southside’s 96.17. Alma (95.10) was third with Bentonville West (94.97) fourth.