KU Scholar Athlete of September 2019: Eriana Meadows
Cheering Is Eriana’s Strong Point
- School: Henry Clay High
- GRADE: 12
- Sport: Cheerleading
- Academics: Eriana has a 3.9 weighted GPA, took 2 A.P. classes and is a National Honor Society member.
- Parents: Erika & Jimmy
Most college level, competitive cheerleaders have relied on years of experience to earn collegiate scholarships.
That’s what makes Eriana Meadows, an 18-year-old, Henry Clay High graduate, so unusual. Eriana earned a cheerleading scholarship to Gardner-Webb, a Christian, liberal arts school in North Carolina, even though her cheer career started only three years ago.
In grade school, Eriana did gymnastics but it wasn’t so much her tumbling and flipping skills that interested Gardner-Webb – it was her power.
Eriana, for the most part, keeps her feet on the ground when her team competes. That’s because she helps form the base, a position that requires great strength.
Weight-lifting and year-round training help Eriana fulfill that requirement, but, she said, technique is equally important when you’re about to flip someone in the air.
“Your hand positions have to be just right when you’re holding somebody’s life in your hands,” she said. “One wrong move and everything comes crashing down.”
Fortunately, Eriana helped avoid that eventuality as a star on the Henry Clay team that twice placed in the top 10 at national meets in Orlando.
At those events, Eriana strove to be the most focused competitor.
“You never see her horsing around, she’s straight focus,” her mother Erika said. “She’s the girl coming to win. That’s her main goal.”
Eriana brings the same commitment to her studies. She had a 3.9 GPA at Henry Clay, took 2 A.P. classes and is a National Honor Society member.
Along with the cheerleading scholarship, Gardner-Webb offered her an academic award with the Presidential Merit Scholarship.
She packed her busy schedule with extra-curricular activities including the Cultural Heritage Club, where she served as vice president.
Along with the history and spirit clubs, and Young Life where she was a worship leader, Eriana was active in the Red Cross Sound the Alarm effort. The group installed smoke detectors and provided safety checks for local residents.
She also is active at the Consolidated Baptist Church where her mother works as assistant to the pastor.
As a student, Eriana is both fastidious and well organized, her mother said.
“She doesn’t wait around on assignments. She gets them done right away and will take time to give them her stamp of approval,” Erika said.
“She’s highly organized and keeps a color coded binder.”
Is your mom right, Eriana?
“Yes, she took the words right out of my mouth.”