After moving her entire life across the country, life hit Rickelle Henderson all at once. She quickly felt drained and filled with anxiety, leaving her battling the idea of walking away from tumbling forever – the sport that had been her escape for so long. The University of Oregon had felt made for her upon commitment, but after moving to chase this division one dream, she wondered if she could follow through. 

Rickelle Henderson was introduced to the world of cheer at just three years old. Her older sister was taking classes, and her mother, Ikae Edwards, often brought her along to watch. Always full of energy, she would run around, jump in the ball pit, and attempt flips. One day, the coaches pulled her mother aside and suggested she try out for a competitive team. 

Very soon after that conversation, Henderson became one of the youngest ever to make that team for her age range. She competed at the highest level through high school – traveling the country for a number of competitions while training constantly. As her skills improved and she won more tournaments, she started to get noticed by college scouts for acrobatics and tumbling – a rising sport.

Acrobatics and tumbling wasn’t officially recognized as a college sport until 2010, and evolved from cheerleading and gymnastics while developing its own structure, scoring system, and skillset. The National Collegiate Acrobatics and Tumbling Association (NCATA) was established to manage all aspects of the game, and in 2020, acrobatics and tumbling received emerging sport status from the NCAA, setting it on the path to becoming a fully sanctioned championship sport.

Her skills weren’t only high level on the mat – but also on the track. Henderson had picked up track and field, and being extremely athletic and in shape gave her a leg up on her running competitors. The University of Miami and University of California Los Angeles were recruiting her for track as she was simultaneously being recruited for acrobatics and tumbling by the University of Oregon. 

With the unwavering support from one of Henderson’s coaches, Shantel Lathem, she committed to the UO acrobatics and tumbling team during her junior year. Coach Latham would constantly help her in any way possible throughout the recruitment process – offering to roll out mats to film videos of her new skills, or by giving her reassurance when waiting to hear back from a coach.

“She’d always ask: ‘What’s happening now? Did you get another interview?’ She was always there supporting me every step of the way,” Henderson said.

After taking some time to consider her options, Henderson fell in love with UO – the community, people and coaches. She was also excited to join Oregon’s prestigious business program, which had all the resources she would need to find success after she stepped off the mat for the last time. 

Henderson attended the summer introduction before her freshman year, and up until that point she was looking forward to her new beginning. But everything quickly changed according to her mother. 

“When I dropped her off at summer bridge program it was like she had gone back into a place that she was in sophomore year – like right around Covid time – where I didn’t think she was going to want to stay. She felt like she had to really make new friends. It wasn’t like she was the person everybody knew at that point,” Edwards said.

At home in their sub city of Houston, everyone always loved her being around. “Once she got to Oregon, it just seemed like she was always having to prove herself to people,” Edwards said. That was one of the harder aspects that Henderson had to navigate – rebuilding a social circle in a place where no one knew her yet. 

Henderson focused her life on acrobatics and tumbling, which meant she’d miss out on things that most of her friends were getting to experience – like birthday parties or her high school prom. With constant travel and training, she knew being one of the best would mean losing many of those “normal” experiences. 

That sense of her sport being deserving of the sacrifice both physically and socially became questionable for Henderson once she moved to Oregon. Her body was already exhausted from the physical demand of her sport. Contorting herself in unnatural ways and doing rigorous stunts for 15 years took a serious toll on her physically, and a part of her knew that her collegiate seasons would most likely be her last.

She was also adjusting to a whole new version of tumbling, which didn’t come easily. Henderson had to prove she deserved to be on the mat, because for the first time her spot wasn’t guaranteed.

“Transitioning from being a cheerleader to a D1 acrobatics and tumbling team – that was a big difference. When you’re doing cheer you know that you have your spot because you made the team, whereas coming into the sport of acrobatics and tumbling, she had to earn her spot. And it didn’t come right away. It was a lot of hard work,” Edwards said. 

Meanwhile, Henderson had trouble making friends, and felt unwelcomed around her own roommate. With no place to escape to that truly felt like home, she struggled to find a way to come out of this funk.

By the end of fall term freshman year, Henderson faced a major crossroads. She had committed to the upcoming season in February but wasn’t sure if she could continue. This sport had been her passion for so long, yet she worried that staying would be detrimental to her mental health.

“I turned into a whole different person than I had ever experienced,” Henderson said.

Henderson and her mom were always exceptionally close to one another. At the end of fall term, she knew she needed time at home with her family to decide whether she should push through or inform her coaches that she was going to withdraw from the university. Her parents encouraged her to give it time. 

“My husband and myself always teach our kids that when you start something you finish it. And she hadn’t even begun,” Edwards said.

Ultimately, Henderson decided to return to school and give it one more month. 

“I had put a lot of time, energy and sacrifice into being here and I was raised to persevere through the hard times. So I decided if it really didn’t get better, I’d have to leave, but I should try it one more time and give it my all,” said Henderson.

When she came back in January, she focused on connecting more with her various communities, including her sorority sisters in Alpha Phi and her teammates. One of her teammates, Karly Nowak, was there for her and understood the stress of being a student athlete transitioning to a new place. 

“She really helped her with her mental health and let her know it’s going to be okay,” Edwards said.

After losing her usual bubbly and extroverted personality for a while, Henderson regained her confidence as February arrived and the season officially began. She had coaches that wanted her to be healthy both mentally and physically, which provided her with a much needed support system to lean on. 

As a freshman alternate, Henderson knew that perfecting a skill could increase her chances of getting time on the mat. She started practicing a six-element pass, a culmination of six tumbling moves completed in a line back to back, aiming to “make it look easy and beautiful.” Her series of moves in this pass that she went on to nearly perfect was a roundoff triple whip followed by a back handspring and a full twisting backflip at 540 degrees.

Throughout the season, her coaches began to notice her skills evolve. The team qualified for nationals, and at a crucial practice the week before the competition, she performed her refined triple whip six-element pass as a synchronized duo.

Then, her coach said, “Rock – we want to see you do this triple whip by yourself.” 

Confused, she glanced at her teammates, who smiled and gave her thumbs up. This was her shot at earning a solo for nationals.

When the team arrived in West Virginia, Henderson still assumed she would be competing in a duo because they hadn’t informed her of any changes since that previous practice. The day before nationals, they went over the S.V. file, which lists each competition and the individuals competing. As expected, her name was called for the duo event.

But then, when they announced the solo six-element pass competitors, they read her name again. She had earned a solo, replacing her friend, Rachel. Though she felt conflicted about taking her friend’s spot, Rachel reassured her, saying she had earned it.

Henderson had little time to prepare for what would be a defining moment in her career. She said to herself, “I’m going to be competing in 24 hours as a soloist, and this is going to be my first time doing it by myself.”

That evening, she only had two run-throughs to practice her steps and spacing. This was important since she considers herself to be a “far runner” when it comes to getting her momentum as she goes into each tumbling pass. Henderson didn’t even get to perform the full tumbling portion before competing.

Nationals featured the top eight teams in the country, with multiple subdivisions and titles up for grabs. Henderson competed in her duo pass early, but didn’t qualify for finals. However, she advanced in both her solo and team events. The team collectively made it to the finals against their rival, Baylor, but ultimately lost. Then came the final event: the six-element solo pass.

Feeling extra energized, she stuck to a superstition she’s relied on since her tumbling journey began at three years old: eating two orange Pixy Stix before competing. Stepping onto the mat, she executed the pass flawlessly and stuck her landing. She felt confident she had won but remained humble, wondering if it looked as good as it felt.

As the final two competitors finished their routines, all the athletes lined up on the end line. Henderson twiddled her thumbs as she caught a judge mouthing, “You’re fine.” Unsure if that meant she had won or if she was simply okay, she braced herself.

The announcer spoke into the microphone, and she had won the title with a 9.725 out of 10.

“I jumped up and my heart ran out of my chest. Everyone in the crowd was yelling, ‘That’s our freshman! That’s our freshman!’” Henderson said . “Everything that had led up to that moment at the end of the season was worth it. I was never letting that feeling go.”

Her teammates, coaches and family erupted in celebration as Henderson became the first UO freshman since 2015 to win an acrobatics and tumbling national title. Little did she know she’d go on to win a second national title in the following season with a trio-pass scored at 9.175 out of 10 – allowing her to now share that feeling of victory with her teammates.  

Overwhelmed with emotion and tears, Henderson realized every hardship she had faced had shaped her into the strong, confident woman standing there. She had found her light once again – now as a national champion. 

This article was initially written for a School of Journalism and Communication class, J435 Profiles and Narrative. The Daily Emerald had full control over the content that is seen in this final, published version and has been edited independently from the SOJC.