Bozeman's Gracie Richmond signs to continue cheer career at college level
Monday afternoon inside the Bozeman High School gym, surrounded by family, teammates, coaches and supporters, senior Gracie Richmond announced she will continue her cheerleading career at Midway University outside Lexington, Kentucky.
This marks a significant milestone as Richmond becomes the inaugural cheerleader in the school's 24-year history to earn such a scholarship.
"I still get blown away about everything, but I am the first as I have always been driven to be," Richmond said. "Others will follow and I hope I inspire them to be the best and not let anyone bring them down or tell them that they can't do something."
Despite having eight years of experience, Richmond almost faced the prospect of her career not taking off when she tried out for the Bozeman varsity team in sixth grade and did not secure a spot.
"It was disappointing but I told myself to get better, pushing through and made the team my seventh grade year and ever since then I just kept on improving," Richmond said. "Cheer is the key to my heart, I love it and it is what God wanted me to do."
Bozeman cheer finish second at state Bozeman cheerleading rises to be state runner-up in program's second year
Athlete of the week poll Vote for your News Herald Athlete of the Week
Midway is near the heart of Kentucky, surrounded by land which Richmond said was one of the key factors that blew her away on her recruiting visit.
"The area is so beautiful, it is acres and acres of land with horses ... it's like horse county," Hammond said. "Going through town I felt that this is it girlie, this is Gracie, this is me, and I knew this is where I wanted to be."
Midway cheerleading coach Ashley Freire was also in attendance and said Richmond had all the qualities she wanted to have for the next four years.
"Gracie is such a hard worker, she has the grades, the drive and the passion," Freire said. "I love that she is a multiple sport athlete with weightlifting and her passion for cheer shone throughout her visit."
Richmond said her time at Bozeman sharpened her all-around skills not only as a student-athlete but as a person moving on to cheer at the collegiate level.
"These girls were tough and didn't make it easy, but it was a thrilling ride that I enjoyed being a part of," Richmond said. "When the journey is hard and tough it is what I thrive in because I like being driven," Richmond said.
Banji Bamidele is a sports reporter for the Panama City News Herald. He can be reached at abamidele@gannett.com or through X, formerly known as Twitter, @AdebanjiBamide1.
This article originally appeared on The News Herald: Gracie Richmond becomes Bozeman's first cheerleading scholarship winner
