High school students work hard to be successful, not only in the classroom but also in whatever sports or extracurricular activities they participate in. McKayla Honeycutt is a captain of the color guard at Catoosa High School and she says that while the work is tough at times, she is looking to keep up with what has been done before her.

“It has taken a lot of work outside of practice to come this far,” she said. “I have worked my butt off for five years. When I started guard, I had some awesome people and now I’m going to try and make my team just as great as it was before Covid-19 hit.”

A senior at Catoosa, Honeycutt says that while the work is important, so has the encouragement and support of those around her. She says that there are two people that have really helped her get to where she is today.

“The role model in my life would be my mother,” McKayla said. “She has always worked hard for what she has and I’ve always looked up to her. The other would be Boss Richards. He has made the biggest impact on my life. He took a chance and brought me out of my shell and helped me become a much better person than I was.”

Honeycutt’s teammates have also played a big role in her life and helped her become who she is today.

“One of my teammates that I enjoy working against is Londyn,” she said. “She gives me a run for my money when it comes to performing. I think Brenna is least appreciated she is always helping take care of the needs of the guard and always has everyone’s back even though she is dealing with her own stuff.”

Being a representative of her school is important to McKayla because she wants people to know how good Catoosa schools are.

“For me representing the school is a lot,” she stated. “Because people have a bad vision of us and I’m trying to reset the image. With the guard we try to show people we are just as great as them even though we aren’t as big as them or have as much money we make it through and still have an amazing school and people at it.”