Three Weakley Countians Cheer for Bethel

Weakley County is well-represented on the Bethel University cheerleading squad, with 15 percent of the 20-person squad calling the county home.

Cheerleaders Brooklyn McDowell (Gleason High School Class of 2024), Tatum Oliver (Dresden High School Class of 2023) and recent graduate Jacey McClure (Dresden High School Class of 2022) share the same home county as Head Coach Leigh Carr (Martin Westview High School Class of 1997).

McDowell, a sophomore elementary education (K-5) student, is active both on campus and in the community. In addition to being a Wildcat cheerleader, McDowell is the STEA historian and a member of the Delta Phi Nu sorority. She also works at Hometown Hangout and as a substitute teacher at Weakley County schools.

After she graduates, McDowell hopes to teach at a local school system and further her education to obtain a master’s degree.

Oliver, a junior accounting student, is a member of both the Wildcat football team and cheer squad. He works at Sharon Furniture and Appliance for David and Maria Lackey, who he calls “great people.”

Joining the cheer squad, Oliver said, is the most interesting activity he has experienced at Bethel University because it is something new he had never done. He thanks his parents for the support they have shown him over the years. In the future, he hopes to “become the best certified public accountant ever.”

McClure graduated from Bethel University in December with a degree in mathematics, but she spent her college career cheering on the Wildcats, tutoring college students and supporting her sorority Lambda Sigma. A secondary education major, McClure was also a member of the Student Tennessee Education Association (STEA) and student-taught at local schools.

McClure now substitute teaches for a local school system and plans to complete her master’s degree in administration.

Coach Carr, of Dresden, entered her thirteenth year of coaching Bethel University cheerleaders in 2026. She leads a squad of 20 cheerleaders, who each practice three to four times a week and perform at university games.

Carr is a 1997 graduate of Martin Westview High School and was a varsity cheerleader for the Tennessee Volunteers from 1997-2001. She earned a Bachelor of Science in psychology from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville and a master’s degree in education from the University of Tennessee at Martin. In addition to coaching at Bethel University, Carr is a fifteen-year educator. She currently serves as a fifth grade math teacher at Newbern Elementary. In the past, she taught in Weakly and Henry County schools.

Carr is the proud mother of Emma Cate Carr, a 14-year-old freshman at Dyer County High School. Emma Cate is following in her mother’s cheerleading footsteps and is a member of the Dyer County co-ed cheerleading squad.