Kassi Riley has been going to Arkansas State for the last two years but in the fall the Poplar Bluff senior will be cheering there for the Red Wolves.
"I've been going to their recruitment camps for a while now, since then I've always wanted to go there," said Riley, who recently signed her letter of intent to do just that.
"It's just always felt so welcoming and the skill level was right where I was at, so it felt like home."
The Division I school located in Jonesboro, Arkansas, is a perfect fit, Riley said, because "it's so close to home and the atmosphere of their athletics program is one of the best."
Their two cheer squads make it just that.
The Red Wolves co-ed squad has been competing at the National level since 2015, and in that time Arkansas State has taken home two top-10 finishes, including seventh place last season -- the best in school history.
The chance to help a top-tier collegiate cheer team was enticing for Riley, who will fit in immediately as a flier for the Red Wolves at football and basketball games, as well as national competitions.
"They're getting an all-around great person, great student, everything," Poplar Bluff cheerleading coach Stephanie Hillis said during the signing ceremony at the Senior High.
"I think she'll be a great asset to their program."
Riley took home individual honors as an All-State selection at the Missouri Cheerleading Coaches Association's state competition last fall. Coaches nominate up to five girls from their team while the competition judges choose the top two from each team.
"It was pretty exhilarating because I didn't expect it," Riley said of the honor. "I was more stressed out about the routine itself, but I ended up getting it and I was really surprised."
Riley went through another grueling routine to earn her scholarship.
Clinics to join the team started in January and led to a four-day tryout process where Riley said she had little time to separate herself from the rest of the field.
"It was stressful because I would get a little down if something went wrong, and driving back and forth every day was tough," Riley said. "But it worked out and I made friends and found a great coach."
The decision was an easy one for fourth-year head coach Paige Pauley.
"When she started coming to those clinics we knew we wanted her," Pauley said. "There's a difference between high school and college cheerleading and she started fitting that collegiate image."
Riley is joining a program that has rejuvenated its cheer team in recent years. Arkansas State competed and contended for national titles in the 1980s but after a brief hiatus from competition, it's started up again.
Arkansas State finished ninth in Division I team competition two years ago.
"We keep growing. We started competing my second year and it was kind of a getting the feet wet type of a scenario," Pauley said. "We've continuously jumped spots, including our best finish last year."
Riley is also joining former teammate Gabbie Pattillo, who signed with the Red Wolves last year.
"She was really close with me last year and she was the main point as to why I wanted to go there," Riley said. "She showed me that someone else can do it, so it gave me the courage to try it as well."
Riley, who helped the Mules place first at state in 2015 before a fourth place finish in 2016, said she will miss her teammates the most.
"Honestly, my senior year was the best, because even though we didn't place first like previous years, I had such a good connection with all of my teammate and we were like a family."