Everyone has to overcome obstacles in life, this Carterville Cheerleader had to do just that. Emerson is one of the five Carterville senior cheerleaders for the class of 2026 ,and has cheered at Carterville for five years. During Emerson’s 2022 freshman cheer season, she ended up suffering a injury. Emerson stated ” I sustained a bucket handle tear in my left medial meniscus. I had surgery to repair it and was out of cheerleading for months.” It’s already had enough recovering from a hard injury once but Emerson had to do it again in 2024. She writes “In May of 2024, I tore my meniscus again and had a partial meniscectomy, with the recovery time being only 6 weeks.” This cheerleader has not only overcome one injury in the span of two years, but two of the same injury. Emerson shows her dedication to cheer by overcoming obstacles through the year which some athletes would quit at that point but she kept persevering through the struggles. She overall is a great and strong athlete with a passion for cheer.
With this strong passion Emerson also talks about how cheer has taught her many things. She says ” Cheer has taught me over time that proper stretching is crucial to getting the most out of whatever training you are doing. It has also taught me to be very cautious and anything can happen to anyone at any time, so being knowledgeable about proper safety techniques should be considered before attempting a skill that could get you hurt.” She clearly is dedicated to improving in her sport and improving as an overall athlete. Even after the injury she is open to getting stronger and becoming more intentional with her preparation when it comes to cheer. Emerson has had her ups and downs in cheer but her passion continues to grow everyday and even after high school. Caring this passion into the collegiate level at UT Martin cheerleading. Emerson signed with UT Martin on November 13 2025, and will start there in the fall of 26.
After more talking with Emerson she expresses her feelings towards her athletic career after the injury. she says ” I don’t feel like I struggle with this injury anymore, but it’s always a fear I have in the back of my mind that I will get cheer taken from me again because of my knee.” Even though the fear of the injury reoccurring it doesn’t stop her from doing what she loves. As she finishes out her last year of high school cheer, she continues to perform at a high level. As the stress from competition season comes up, she continues to keep her foot on the gas petal helping her team towards winning competitions and a state win. Her teammate’s always describe her as a light for there stress and as a positive impact on their team and season. This is something that the UT Martin cheer could have as-site to there team, and there athletic program. Overall we wish Emerson the best with her athletic and academic career at UT Martin.
