Cheerleading might not be a sport to most, but the games are just not the same without the cheerleaders. One particular Pace cheerleader, Kelli Etheridge, is no longer a face you can see cheering on the Patriots. The senior cheerleader recently was one of 10 selected to model uniforms for Varsity Spirit Fashions, a cheerleading uniform supplier across the nation. "It was exciting to go," Ethridge said. "I remember when our representative came to the school and then started talking to me about applying about being one of the models for their photo shoot. "I was a little hesitant at first, but my mom (Jona Burklow) encouraged me to try and send in a couple of 8×10 photos." Not long afterwards, Ethridge heard back and learned out of roughly 1,000 applicants nationally she was one of the 10 picked to be in the 2012 catalog. "I never really thought about modeling for a catalog, but it was really a lot of fun," Ethridge said about her experience. "I got to meet a lot of new people and I am still in contact with some of them." Ironically Etheridge did not get to wear the Pace colors, which were featured in the photo shoot, but that wasn't too big of an issue. "They just assigned us uniforms and warm-ups, so we really didn't have a choice," Ethridge said. "The reason I didn't get to was the people didn't want two blondes on a page." The decisions and process seemed to be the hardest part for Kevin Ethridge and Jona Burklow as she spent a week in Dallas for the shoot. "We did five days of shoots which was a lot of fun, but at times they could be really particular. That was the frustrating part," Ethridge recalled. "We would do something and then they would turn around and change it. "I don't think I would like the modeling lifestyle, but I definitely think I would like to do it again on the side in college or something like that." Ethridge is really happy now after the trip and flying alone for the first time that she listened to her mother. "I was iffy about the whole thing and probably would not have done it if my mom didn't push me," Ethridge said. "My mom wanted me to do it and now I am glad I listened to her. "It was a totally new experience and a lot of fun." While she spent five long days at the studio doing the photo shoot, but afterwards Ethridge and her fellow cheerleaders would hang out at the hotel or go to the mall. "I wish we could have done some other things, but the shoots were very long," Ethridge said. "One day we did go to a mall, but most of the time we hung out at the hotel or went out for dinner."
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Pace cheerleader to be model in national catalog