Cheer teams do a lot of different things around their school. Along with competing in their own competitions, they also cheer on their schools at athletic events. Shawn Staton is in her ninth year leading the Tonkawa High School cheer team and she says that her team enjoys doing just about anything as long as they do it as a team. 
 “These girls love to make signs and we generally make a party out of it,” Staton said. “It is fun to watch them get their creative juices flowing and see which girls can come up with the most fun sign to put up in the hallway.  We have a lot of budding artists on the Tonkawa cheer squad. One of the things that the girls like about cheer is cheering under the Friday night lights. There is nothing quite like cheering in front of the hometown crowd. A lot of them love different parts of cheer, including homecoming, band, and of course the student section.”

The team participated last year for the first time in the Game Day competition. They made it all the way to state, which they felt was a great accomplishment being their first time competing. 

Helping lead any cheer program are the captains, which are chosen by the team. Coach Staton says that she has had a long line of outstanding cheer captains and this year that tradition continues. 
 “Over the years, I have had many great captains,” she said. “This year is no different. Seniors Sierra Funk and Adynn Ronald care so much for this cheer squad and always do what is good for their squad and to make each one feel 100% a part of the team. They will always go that extra mile and do extra practices for any of the girls that want it. One of the things they love about cheer is how the little eyes are upon them and they know they have to set high standards for all the underclassmen to follow and younger students to follow.”