Draughn’s Denton to cheer collegiately at Lees-McRae

For the second time in as many weeks, a Draughn cheerleader made their college plans official.

Senior Kaylee Denton is headed to Lees-McRae College in Banner Elk this fall after signing her letter of intent to join the Bobcats’ cheer team on Friday, March 27. DHS teammate Madison Bowman previously signed with Lenoir-Rhyne University on March 20.

“When I was in sixth grade I cheered at Heritage, and I had never cheered a day in my life,” said Denton, who will pursue a business management degree at Lees-McRae. “So it was like a ‘let’s try something new’ situation, and I cheered at Heritage all three years, during COVID too so it was a little bit rough. And then I cheered in high school, and I’ve had really good, amazing coaches all through my cheering experience.”

Denton was impressed by what she saw when she toured Lees-McRae’s campus with her mother, stating that “it was really nice up there” before adding that the Bobcats’ ninth-year head coach, Sally Wimberly, contacted her on Instagram with more information about the program.

“Overall, their team just seems like a good environment,” said Denton. “A couple of the cheerleaders have reached out to me, so it just seems like a very welcoming team to join.”

Denton thanked all of the coaches she has had over the years, including her middle school coach, Dia Hefner, and her former high school coaches, Haley Proffitt and Heather Bost. She is also grateful for the impact that current Draughn head coach Macy Dula has had on her.

“We weren’t a competition team to start off with, we didn’t really know how that was gonna go,” said Denton, who has helped the Wildcats win two varsity state titles this year, the first of which represented the school’s first North Carolina High School Athletic Association state championship of any kind since opening in 2008. “We all became really close friends … and we hang out outside of school, we talk outside of school, so it’s a really good environment to be in.”

In addition to “making friends” and receiving “a chance to bond and make new memories” during her time at Draughn, Denton has also enjoyed traveling to other schools to cheer on the Wildcats’ football and basketball squads.

Dula spoke highly of both Denton and Bowman, who will now get the opportunity to continue doing what they love at the college level.

“Both of them are amazing cheerleaders, and I got the privilege of coaching both of them this year,” said Dula. “... The characteristics that they have outside of cheerleading (really stand out), like the people that they are, their personality, their work ethic, their sportsmanship, and other characteristics like that.

“I think it’s great to see cheerleaders getting to stay in North Carolina and still do what they love, especially coming from a high school that’s close by so their friends and family can still go watch.”