Chad Hunter
Cherokee Phoenix
Texas Christian University baton twirler Haylee Chiariello will help rally the underdog Horned Frogs in their championship battle with No. 1-ranked Georgia on Monday, Jan. 9.
“I am so excited,” the 23-year-old Cherokee Nation citizen from Oklahoma City said. “I am just on cloud nine. It’s the most incredible thing to see, the transformation of our team. I’m so thrilled.”
TCU, ranked No. 3 after an undefeated season, beat No. 2 Michigan in the Fiesta Bowl for a spot in the national title game in what one CBS sports writer described as “the biggest upset in college football playoff history.” TCU is now one victory away from its first national title since 1938.
“It’s been long overdue for the TCU Horned Frogs, I’m telling you,” Chiariello said. “It’s just amazing to see how much things can change in a football season. As our season was progressing it was really amazing to see that wow, this was really becoming possible. We were staying undefeated. The numbers just started going up – 6-0, 7-0, 8-0. Last season, we had a different football coach, and now we’re playing for the national title.”
The championship game between TCU and the Georgia Bulldogs will take place at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California.
“We are going against the No. 1 team. I’m obviously biased, but I think the TCU Horned Frogs, we’re going to put on a show,” Chiariello said. “We just defeated No. 2 Michigan. There were about 71,000 fans in attendance at the Fiesta Bowl. So it was a huge victory for our team, and I got to be right there at the front of it. I never imagined as a young girl that I would get to be on the field at the college football playoffs.”
The TCU Twirlers will perform at the championship game. At halftime, the spotlight will shine on Chiariello as she performs a solo baton-twirling routine.
“Whenever I go out there, it’s my own choreography, my own costume designs,” she said. “Just to be able to get to the national championship is really a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I’m soaking in every second and thanking the Lord for this experience. I want to remember every moment.”
Chiariello, president of the university’s Native and Indigenous Students Association, is in her third year at TCU.
“It’s amazing to have an opportunity to talk with leaders and just other members of our university community about what Native representation is, talk more about our culture and our rich histories,” she said.
Initially a student at the University of Oklahoma, Chiariello was lured to TCU with academic grants and to be the featured baton twirler spot. Chiariello hopes to one day work in a non-profit setting helping promote health initiatives for Native Americans in addition to pursuing a law degree focusing on tribal law.
“I’m very blessed to just be a part of representing Native athletes,” she said. “There are not a lot of opportunities for us to be able to have these sort of amazing experiences. I love it.”
This article was first published in the Cherokee Phoenix.