In good spirits

Two recent Mountain Brook graduates, Catherine Fruin and Caroline Cross, will be taking their previous Spartan spirit talents to new heights as members of the Auburn University Cheerleaders and the Auburn Tiger Paws dance team.

Fruin, a rising sophomore studying exercise science, said she hopes to continue to physical therapy school after graduation and she’s always wanted to cheer for Auburn. 

“Ever since I can remember, I have been a huge Auburn fan, so I would definitely say it is a dream come true that I am able to represent the university I love by doing something that I love,” she said. 

Fruin has been cheering since she was in eighth grade and previously cheered for MBHS and on the Ace All-Stars of Birmingham travel team. Although she has been cheering for most of her life, freshmen are not permitted to try out for the team so this year was her first experience in the university’s tryout setting. 

“Tryouts included a lot of mixed emotions for me personally,” she said. “I was thrilled to finally begin what I had been waiting [to do for] so long, but obviously was extremely nervous about the entire process as well.” 

Tryouts occurred this past spring with a skill tryout, which was followed by a round of cuts and an interview session. Members of the cheer team were announced the evening of the interviews. 

“I was completely overwhelmed and shocked when my name was called out at Cater Hall,” Fruin said. “To have all my friends and family surround me when my name was called is a memory and a feeling I will never forget.”

As a cheerleader, Fruin and her teammates will be promoting spirit across campus and making appearances at football, basketball, gymnastics, volleyball, softball and soccer events, Fruin said. But she’s still looking forward to that first home football game.

“As cliché as it sounds, I am most looking forward to walking into a packed … Jordan-Hare stadium on Sept. 2 for our first home game,” Fruin said. “It will be a feeling like no other and I cannot wait to experience it every Saturday.”

Also in attendance at the Jordan-Hare stadium will be recent MBHS grad Caroline Cross as a part of the Tiger Paws dance team. Both teams are a part of the Auburn spirit system.

“I was so excited when I heard that Caroline made Tiger Paws, and I cannot wait to share the sideline with her in the fall,” Fruin said.

Cross, an incoming freshman who will be studying accounting, has been dancing since fourth grade. Both parents went to Auburn and when she decided to attend Auburn her coach encouraged her to try out. 

“I wasn’t completely sure at first,” she said. “[But] I decided I wasn’t really ready to give up dancing … I had all the training to do it so at that point I was like, ‘Why not?’” 

Tryouts normally take two days, starting on a Thursday night where prospective athletes learned different dance routines. Cross said the first session lasted until about 10 p.m. 

“You go home, and if you’re like me, you work your butt off and … wake up at like 6 o’clock the next morning [for tryouts],”she said.

After making it past the first round of cuts, she was called back twice to perform for the judges. “I was dancing all day,” she said, adding that it was a scary feeling to becalled back. 

She progressed to the last round of call-outs, where judges call out the dancers who made the team. She was the second team member to be announced.

“My first reaction was, ‘Don’t fall Caroline,’ because I was wearing heels,” she joked. “I felt so grateful … It felt like all my hard work all throughout high school had paid off.”

She was happy to hear she’ll have a fellow Spartan on the field, too.

“I thought, ‘Oh, this will be good. I’ll have a buddy in the spirit system,’” Cross said. “I’m excited to be around the cheerleaders; it’s so cool.” 

Cross shares the same excitement for the first football game as Fruin, and now that she’s been accepted, she’s been practicing the routines at home with a little help from her mom. “How we do it now in my house is she’ll sing the fight songs and I’ll show her the dance [routine],” Cross said. 

And she hopes to continue to be a member of Tiger Paws throughout her time at Auburn.

“I don’t know if I’m ever going to be able to give up dancing,” she said. “And I know Tiger Paws is going to be a lot of balance, but I’m ready for the challenge.”

Editor's note: This article was edited on June 27 at 1 p.m. to reflect the correct name of Cater Hall.