Burnet senior Callie Juergens to cheer at East Texas Baptist

CAPTION: Burnet High School senior cheerleader Callie Juergens (second from right) signs her National Letter of Intent as parents Jacy (left) and Brandon Juergens and Emily Reynolds (right) join her. Photo by Martelle Luedecke/Luedecke Photography

Burnet High School senior cheerleader Callie Juergens will continue providing school spirit as a member of the East Texas Baptist University cheer squad after she signed Nov. 12.

Her pilgrimage to ETBU began in January at the University Interscholastic League’s state competition where hundreds of cheerleaders are competing. Juergens said after the meet finished, ETBU coaches contacted Burnet High cheer coach Courtney Triplett to get more information.

When the youngster found out, she had one question.

“Are they sure it was me?” she recalled asking. “II was definitely very surprising when they reached out to my coach, saying that they saw me at UIL. There’s so many people – it was a huge competition. So I was very honored, honestly, that they even reached out and wanted to see and learn more about me. That was really cool.” 

“We received an email from the ETBU coach with a picture from competition saying we want this girl,” Triplett said. “This was a really special experience for her. She then visited the school several times and decided it was a good fit for her.”

Juergens said she and her family “booked the tour day” for “the big tour around the college.”

“I met with the coach, and I talked to her about what the next season would look like and what it would be like if I was there,” the cheerleader said. “I looked at all the dorms and stuff, and I verbally committed that day because I knew immediately after I saw the college. I was like ‘this is beautiful.'”

Juergens began cheering two years ago, halfway through her sophomore year.

“(The squad) got to competition season, and they were low on people, and so they were holding a second tryout,” she said. “I’ve played volleyball most of my life, so I wasn’t even thinking about cheer. I obviously thought it was cool. But it was just not something I saw myself doing.”

But encouragement from a friend changed her mind.

“I ended up making the team, and I got like one of the front row spots and I was like, ‘Wow, this is fun,'” she said. “And we did competition, and it was fun to just be a part of that and I ended up really liking it, so I did it again.”

Little did she know at that time the role cheering would play next few years.

“Given the opportunity and having that door open going to cheer, I feel like it was an answered prayer,” she said. “I was stressing about what I was gonna do, and so with that opportunity, I feel relieved of a lot of my stress. I haven’t had to worry about college applications. I’m just staying on top of my schoolwork and just feeling that the Lord does have a plan for me. They had to see me for a reason.” 

She has learned plenty since that tryout and first event, so much so that a collegiate cheer squad wanted to get to know her to see if she could fit.

“They just said that I had really great stage performance, and they said I had a lot of energy, and it was just something that they were looking for on their team and they thought I’d make a good asset for that,” Juergens said. “And they also noticed that I was tall. I’m a backspot, and they said that this next season, they had a lot of seniors leaving who were back spots, and they were gonna need that spot filled and they just said that I would be a good candidate for it.”

The Lady Dawg stands 5 feet and 8 inches.

“She’s smart, athletic, responsible and an absolute leader,” Triplett said. “Whether she is rallying her teammates, encouraging younger athletes, or just making you laugh on a tough day, she brings out the best in those around her. As a cheerleader, Callie is the full package. Her jumps are absolutely beautiful, her motions are sharp and precise, and she performs with confidence and grace every time she steps on the mat or the sidelines. There is no doubt that she will go on to accomplish incredible things, not only through ETBU, but everything she sets her mind to.”  

The daughter of Emily Reynolds and Brandon and Jacy Juergens wants to major in criminal justice to become an attorney.

“I love the idea of being in a courtroom,” she said. “The court setting fascinates me.” 

She said she moved to Burnet shortly before joining the cheer squad and called it “the best decision ever.”

“As soon as I got here, I immediately loved it,” she said. “The people are so nice, and it’s a smaller school, so I feel like you have more of that community. It feels like family. You obviously have that pride in you. You can tell people are so prideful to be apart of this community. I feel like it’s been an honor. People know you. If you’re out in public, people ask, ‘Are you a cheerleader?’ It makes you feel good that you have a face that people know in a positive way.”

Juergens said she looks forward to being at ETBU, a Christian-based school.

“That’s always the motivation on the team that was one thing,” she said. “They said, ‘We are very God-driven. We do a lot of prayer and Bible study with the team,’ and I feel like that was a selling point for me, because I do love the Lord and just being able to go represent at a school that also loves the Lord was really cool for me.”