Wednesday, April 30, 2008
PRCC cheerleaders named to elite LSU squad

     POPLARVILLE - Two Pearl River Community College cheerleaders will be cheering next year for the Louisiana State University Tigers.
      Ciara Gunn and Cord Cole, both long-time LSU fans, made the 36-person cheerleading squad after try-outs the weekend of April 26.
      “It’s going to be amazing,” said Cole, 21, of Saucier.
      Cole tore a knee ligament playing intramural basketball in February but made the squad based on his performance at LSU camps and clinics in the past.
      Neither he nor Gunn know yet whether they will be on the varsity or junior varsity squad.
      “Where I’m placed depends on how fully recovered I get,” he said.
      The varsity squad cheers in front of the student section during football games and for the men’s basketball games, Gunn said. The junior varsity cheers on the visitor’s side at Tiger Stadium and for women’s basketball while both squads cheer at gymnastics and volleyball matches, she said.
      “It’s based on skill level,” Gunn said. “They’re ranked sixth in the nation.” Gunn, the 19-year-old daughter of Larry and Debby Gunn of McNeill, started taking gymnastics at age 4.
      “I had older cousins that cheered,” she said. “They’d teach me stuff at an early age.”
      She cheered for four years at Pearl River Central High School and two years at PRCC, where she was captain in 2007-08. She also was Miss PRCC Wildcat in 2007.
      The thrill of going to LSU games as a child with relatives who live in Baton Rouge has stuck in her mind.
      “I remember how exciting the atmosphere was,” she said.
      Gunn will be majoring in radiology at LSU.
      Cole, the son of Buddy Cole of Saucier and Cheryl Dutruch of Gulfport, attended the University of Southern Mississippi for a year before Hurricane Katrina interrupted his education. He has been a PRCC cheerleader and Gunn’s stunt partner for the past two years.
      He played baseball at Harrison Central High School and was a cheerleader there during his senior year.
      “The reason I started cheering mainly was to stay in shape for baseball,” Cole said. “I got to where I liked it - the competing part of it - and realized I could get a scholarship so I pursued it.”
      Cole’s sister, an aunt and an uncle are LSU alumni and following in their footsteps has been a long-time goal, he said. He will be majoring in construction management.
      Gunn and Cole will make their debut, possibly as stunt partners, on Aug. 30 when LSU hosts Appalachian State University.