Barnwell cheerleader now a Carolina Gamecock

80,000 people pack into Williams-Brice Stadium on a typical Saturday in the fall to see the likes of Shane Beamer, Spencer Rattler, MarShawn Lloyd, and Makenzie Williams. Wait, who is Makenzie Williams?, you might ask. She is one of the outstanding Carolina Gamecock cheerleaders that helps add excitement and spirit to the South Carolina Football game day experience.

Makenzie graduated from Barnwell High School, where she was a member of the South Carolina State Champion Competitive Cheer team. She has always wanted to be a Gamecock cheerleader. Her mom (and high school coach) Amy Williams said, “When Makenzie was a little girl, she told me she was going to be a Carolina cheerleader. My response to her was that she could do anything she wanted to but it was going to take a lot of work from her and me, but I was ready if she was ready.”

I recently asked Makenzie about the differences between high school cheer and college cheer. She said, “The main differences between high school cheer and college cheer is the time consumption. High school cheer practices usually took two hours of my time a week. College cheer takes eight hours of my time a week. It isn’t a lot but there are also some weeks where we have scheduled appearances that are mandatory or extra practices and even sometimes games. Another difference in college cheer is that everyone on your team is equally as good as you or better. We all have a spot on the team but are constantly fighting to be better or to earn a higher spot. I’ve learned a lot from college cheer but the main thing I’ve learned is everyone on my team is passionate about the sport. They all want to be there and put in the effort which makes practices, appearances, and games much more fun and enjoyable.”

So, what is a typical schedule like?

“Our cheer schedule can be anything from our usual three practices a week to only once a week. We have to report to Columbia the first week in August to start practices. For two weeks we are practicing twice a day for many hours. Once we start school, we go to our usual schedule which is Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 6-9 and football games on Saturday. Once basketball starts we still practice Monday, Wednesday, and Friday but have one to two games in the mix of practices.” There are also scheduled appearances that must be met from time to time.

Makenzie is majoring in public health and was recently accepted into the Arnold School of Public Health. At the moment she is unsure of what she wants to do, but says, “It has been a dream of mine to work at St. Jude Children’s Hospital, so that is what I’m aiming for at the moment.”

When asked about some of her most memorable cheering experiences at South Carolina, she replied, “My most memorable experience as a Gamecock cheerleader was getting the opportunity to cheer for the women’s basketball team at the Sweet 16 and Elite 8.”

Makenzie’s mom and high school coach, Amy Williams, added, “There are no words to explain the feeling I get as her mom and coach when I see her on that sideline. I know firsthand what all she sacrificed to be there.”

It looks like sometimes dreams do come true. Just look at that little girl from years ago, now cheering her heart out in front of 80,000 people on Gamecock game days.