Grace Isley has been involved in cheerleading since elementary school, and she wanted to find a way to continue her passion after graduating from Hauser.
Even though Isley thought it would be a longshot to make the Butler Cheer Team, she decided to give it a shot.
The 2020 grad sent in her audition video, then found out over the summer that she was selected as a 2020-21 member of the cheerleading squad through the team’s Facebook page.
“I had some friends over at my house, and I didn’t know that I got on until my mom showed me,” Isley said. “I was very excited. I was very shocked because I’ve never competed competitively and at that level. I’ve just been a high school cheerleader, so it was really exciting, and it was really nice.”
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For Isley, tryouts were much different than in normal years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The tryouts were held virtually in the spring and early part of summer during the shutdown. She said the videos were done in one continuous shot so that no editing could be done.
“I had to do a continuous video of the fight song and jumps and tumbling and stunting, and that’s how I got on the team,” Isley said. “I sent it in, and they announced it over Facebook and that’s how I found out.”
The freshman said she’ll cheer for the home football and men’s basketball games and also cheer at some women’s basketball and volleyball games.
With the pandemic wiping out the football season this fall, Isley was supposed to get her first taste of cheerleading in Butler’s men’s basketball home opener on Nov. 25. However, because of recent COVID-19 outbreaks the past few weeks, the cheerleaders weren’t allowed to cheer that game.
Isley said only eight cheerleaders currently are allowed to cheer at each game.
Although Isley doesn’t know the exact number of men and women that tried out for the team since it was done virtually, coach Brenda Jamerson said in their first meeting with the team that it was one of the biggest groups to have tried out. A total of 28 women and 13 men make up the squad this year.
Isley originally was set to be a co-ed flyer this year, but due to injuries to both men and women on the squad, she’s now an all-girl flyer.
Cheering at practices and at games is different, as well, due to COVID-19. Masks are worn when practicing, with breaks in the middle for sanitizing.
Isley chose to attend Butler because of its health sciences and pharmacy program, which is what she’s majoring in. She also says she enjoys the campus life and making new friends.
“It felt like it was more of a vibe that I wanted,” Isley said. “I went to a small high school, so it wasn’t too big for me, but it was big enough.”
Isley went to Hope Elementary from kindergarten through the fifth grade, then went on to attend Columbus Christian from sixth through ninth grades before heading to Hauser at the beginning of her sophomore year. She played soccer at Columbus Christian and was on the varsity cheerleading team at Hauser where she cheered during the boys basketball games.
While cheering basketball games at Hauser, Isley picked up another sport — track. It started when she was a sophomore in gym class and the teacher, April Dalton, also the girls track coach, saw how quick Isley was in drills. Her junior year, she broke the school record in the 100-meter dash at 12.86 seconds.
“She watched me and was like, ‘You’re really fast. You should try track,’” Isley said. “I never tried it before, so she just put me in different things and saw that I was really fast, and I pushed for it and I realized I was good at it.”
While it’s disappointing Isley won’t be putting on her cheerleading outfit and cheering on the Bulldogs in the near future, she said she hopes she’ll be able to cheer in January or February if the COVID-19 cases settle. If not, she added that she’ll have the opportunity in the spring once football begins.
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Name: Grace Isley
High school: Hauser
College: Butler
Year: Freshman
Major: Health Sciences
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