Paige Hoyt loves cheerleading and only discovered it two years ago. Now she wants to help ensure a strong future for the sport in Wrangell, she used her high school senior project to do just that.

For six weeks during the middle school basketball season, Hoyt and cheer coach Tyla Nelson taught eager middle school girls how to cheer. For Hoyt, it was the first step forward to seeing cheerleading start in middle school and continue through high school years.

“I just love cheerleading,” she said. “I wish I had discovered it earlier. I wish I could have been able to start in middle school and do it until graduation.”

During the six-week class, Hoyt went through basic formations with the middle schoolers, focusing on proper form to build upon with more experience later on.

She drilled the girls on different moves and choreography, and introduced them to basic stunts — all things that could help give them an advantage for cheering at the high school level.

The idea for teaching middle schoolers occurred to her early this school year, and she went with Nelson to speak with High School Principal Greg Clark, and he agreed it would be a good thing to do.

“I really wanted to be there every single time, but I was also finishing the volleyball season, so I had to miss a few of the classes,” she said. “But I was there every time I had the chance. The girls did so well. There was one specific girl in eighth grade that stood out to me. If she can stay with it through high school, I think she’s going to be amazing.”

Hoyt said being a member of the high school cheerleading squad is perfect for her because it helps keep her near the action. She said she loves so much that she plans to build her future around it.

“I just feel like I have enjoyed sports from a young age, and I’ve competed in all of them except for running and wrestling,” she said. “And I really enjoy watching pretty much all sports. So, I hope I can work in a career where I get to watch and interview players and write about the events.”

Hoyt is already getting a taste of that life as she has been writing sports stories for the Sentinel since volleyball season and continues to provide coverage of high school boys and girls basketball.

“I hope to get to work for a college newspaper or radio station,” she said. “My absolute dream job would be working for the WNBA and covering those games and interviewing those athletes.”

One big decision that remains for her, though, is deciding where to attend college. She has already been accepted at the University of Oregon and Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington. Regardless of which one she chooses, her path is clear: Sports media.

“I think Wrangell really does a lot for the students with sports,” she said. “There are so many teachers and coaches that care. Growing up here was definitely a plus.”