"Carson leads in online competition"
By Will Mezick
Associate Sports Editor
September 15, 2005
She may be small in stature, but she's big in spirit. For that reason, Auburn Cheerleader Alaina Carson has been chosen to represent not only Auburn, but the entire Southeastern Conference in round one of this year's Athlon Sports Sideline Spirit contest, presented by Samsung.
The requirements for the contest are simple enough." contestants must be cheerleaders at a major university and be approved by that school.
The soft-spoken Huntsville native was chosen by Auburn University from a group of returning cheerleaders.
Athlon Sports then selected Carson from a panel of cheerleaders representing each SEC school.
"(Alaina) was one of our top choices," said Auburn assistant director of athletics development Latisha Durroh.
Carson has been cheerleading since eighth grade, but does not anticipate a future in cheerleading beyond the college level. Carson, a junior in psychology, plans to graduate from Auburn and further her education in that field.
"There's not really a whole lot of opportunities to cheerleaders after college, and I plan on going to graduate school,"Carson said.
Carson takes her schooling seriously. In fact, dealing with school is her biggest concern.
"The most difficult part about being a cheerleader at Auburn is keeping up with school and classes," Carson said.
Cheerleading goes well beyond those few hours spent on the sidelines each fall Saturday. It requires as much commitment as any other major college sport.
"(Twice a week) we get up at 5 a.m. and have practice from 5:45 a.m. till 7:30 a.m.," Carson said.
In addition to the required team workouts, Carson and her fellow cheerleaders are encouraged to workout on their own. Though not required, the squad trains together, even on off days, increasing team unity.
"The cheerleading squad is very close," Carson said. "We condition as a group. We hang out at night and when we have time off on the weekends."
"They're like a family," Durroh said.
The team unity has spurred Carson's success in the spirit contest. Her friends on the team support her by voting online and spreading news of Carson's involvement in the contest by word of mouth.
So far, the results have been phenomenal. Carson currently has a comfortable round one lead with 36 percent of the vote. Her closest competitor has 23 percent.
"I think it's awesome to know that I have so many supporters," Carson said. "People I've never met are e-mailing me, saying they are supporting me. It's really neat to have people I don't know that are Auburn fans supporting me."
Winning prizes for the contest include $2,000 that will be donated to the winner's cheerleading program. Individually, the winner will receive recognition in the form of a photo shoot that will be featured in Athlon Sports 2006 Football Annual as well as the Athlon Sports Web site.
Carson remains humble and is less concerned with personal prizes and more with gaining recognition for Auburn and her squad.
"People love Auburn and want to help out in every contest", Carson said. "(The Sideline Spirit Contest) is really a positive way to support the University and Auburn cheerleading." If Carson successfully takes home round one, she will solidify a spot in the final round with the winners of rounds two, three and four.
Her round one competition include Day Burress of Clemson, representing the ACC; Lindsey Buehler of Penn State, representing the Big 10; Casey Martin of Texas Tech, representing the Big 12; Crystal Hollobaugh of South Florida, representing the Big East; and Chelsey of UCLA representing the Pac 10. |
