Path to Panthers for Tonganoxie High cheerleader
Sidney Murphy didn’t have to do much searching for her next step after Tonganoxie High School.
The THS senior, who is a member of the cheer squad, signed a national letter of intent last week to cheer at Neosho County Community College in Chanute.
“I had a friend that went there,” Murphy explained. “The coach had contacted me about coming down for a visit… I really liked their campus. It was small like Tonganoxie.
“It’s a really good community. It reminds me of home.”
Neosho and New York
• Sidney Murphy is headed to Neosho County to cheer on the spirit squad in the fall.
•The THS senior signed a letter of intent with the community college.
• Murphy has been doing cheer since middle school.
• She and a handful of THS teammates will participate in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in NYC.
During her campus visit, Murphy tried out for the team and made it. She had thought about attending Emporia State University, but then came the opportunity at NCCC. And on Wednesday, Nov. 9, at the Chieftain Room on the THS campus, she signed to cheer for the Panthers.
“I really wanted to continue cheering through college,” Murphy said.
A two-year captain on the THS cheer squad, Murphy has cheered all four years of high school. She also cheered a year at Tonganoxie Middle School.
Murphy said she most enjoys the crowd interaction.
“I’m a people person,” Murphy said. “I like getting the crowd involved.
“I always see the little kids at the fence and watching during basketball games.”
She especially has enjoyed the mini cheer camps. She said when she was a young girl, she looked up to the cheerleaders in the high school. Now, she hopes, youngsters are looking up to her and her peers.
Murphy plans to enroll in the nursing program at Neosho County where she can earn a degree as a registered nurse. She then plans to stay another year in Chanute and earn her bachelor’s, thanks to a joint program between Neosho County and the University of Kansas.
NCCC has 10 sports, five men’s and and five women’s sports.
Although the Panthers don’t have a football team, there are several other opportunities to cheer on Neosho County.
In the meantime, Murphy continues to stay busy. Along with being a two-year cheer captain, she’s a two-year Big Red Pep Club captain, in her second year with the National Honor Society and has been included in the Educational Excellence.
And though THS is in between sports season right now, Murphy and a handful of her teammates have qualified to be part of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade next week in New York City. The squad members depart Saturday and will practice about four hours daily in preparation for the event. They also will get to see the sights of the Big Apple.