Published: July 04, 2009 04:30 pm      

Making a name at the national level

Gibbs wins national honors in Las Vegas cheerleading event

Every Friday night, Mackenzie Gibbs dons her cheerleading suit and joins the rest of the Duncan squad in cheering the Demons to victory. But that does not begin to define Gibbs as a cheerleader.

Since she began cheerleading at the age of 6, Gibbs has been driven to excel. In competitions throughout the nation, the junior as accumulated 29 national championships. The last such championship came recently as she won a $5,000 scholarship at the Nation’s Best competition in Las Vegas.

The competition boasted a field of national champions from cheerleading associations. Criteria for rating the national champions consisted of an interview, grade-point average, an essay and performance.

“I’m not usually nervous when I compete but I was nervous when I interviewed,” Gibbs said. “Ever since I have been a cheerleader, I have learned dedication.”

That trait has come in handy given the time requirements on Gibbs. It is not uncommon for Gibbs to work out with the DHS cheerleading squad, get some time in on the softball field and go home and work on her routines for competition.

“I just like to compete,” Gibbs said. “I get tired of practicing but everybody gets tired of that.”

The competitive season in cheerleading starts in November for Gibbs. Once softball is over, she begins working on her routine for a season that lasts throughout the winter and into the spring.

She goes to Norman to work with choreographers and finishes work on her routine in Duncan, making it her own while working out at a gym owned by Dee Ann Gourney, who has coached her since she was 5 years old.

“She’s never tiring with Mackenzie,” Sherry Gibbs said.

“She is just as dedicated as I am,” Mackenzie said.

Once competition starts, the weekends are relegated to eight-hour road trips by car or traveling by plane as Gibbs competes against girls who have become her friends over the years.

While bonds have been established, the competition is fierce. Spirit fingers are a myth made for television.

“I don’t think people realize how competitive it is,” Gibbs said. “We are competing for ourselves. Most of us practice four times a week and they are watching you all the time you are competing.

“I’ve gained a lot of confidence in myself and what I can achieve. It’s kind of come natural to me.”

In Gibbs’ essay for the Nation’s Best competition, she talked about what cheerleading meant to her, dedication, leadership, work ethic and fun. Lessons learned from cheerleading have filtered over into softball and school work. The competition itself has given her a forum to thrive in a pressure-packed situation.

“It is not like is on television,” Sherry Gibbs said. “She has been in front of a lot of people since she was a kid. She rises to the occasion.”

Gibbs will continue to add national championships to her resume over the course of the next two years. After that, the future is up in the air.

“I haven’t decided if I will cheer in college,” Gibbs said. “It depends on where I get to go and the opportunities that I have.”