On Jan. 8, 2020, the Netflix docuseries Cheer introduced the world to a high-flying, basket-tossing, rough-and-tumble cheerleading team that had been dominating the collegiate cheer scene for years with little recognition from outside the sport.
Navarro College, a two-year community college in Corsicana, boasts some of the best cheerleaders in the country who have led the program to 14 national titles, and the athletes who were featured in the six-part series shot to stardom immediately after it premiered.
From making appearances on The Ellen DeGeneres Show and at New York Fashion Week to gaining endorsements and hundreds of thousands of social media followers, many of the cheerleaders said they enjoyed the experiences their newfound celebrity status brought before COVID-19 safety measures halted travel. A year later, most of the cast still have their eyes on making mat at nationals in Daytona this spring.
Lexi Brumback
The final episode of Cheer ended with Brumback no longer a member of the Navarro team due to issues off the mat, but the dynamic tumbler returned for the 2019-20 season (that was cut short before the team could travel to Daytona for the collegiate national championships) and is back for Round 3 this year.
When reflecting on the past year, Brumback told The Dallas Morning News she felt like “all of the mistakes that I made in the past helped me be in this mindset that I have today. … I look at all possibilities of everything before I make my decision because I used to struggle with that.”
In addition to managing her main Instagram account that has 820,000 followers, Brumback also started a makeup and art account, an account to promote her clothing line that features her designs, a YouTube channel and a tumbling program called CheerFit that includes tumbling video tutorials.
After finishing up at Navarro, she has plans to attend art school for animation, though she’s also interested in digital art and 3D mediums like jewelry-making and sculpture.
“I want to be the girl who can do it all,” Brumback said. “If I set my ambitions high, I’ll land somewhere pretty high.”
La’Darius Marshall
The cancellation of 2020 collegiate nationals brought Marshall back to Navarro for one more season, and the fierce frontman of the team said the Bulldogs are off to a strong start this year.
“We’re looking really, really good. I’m actually like, ‘OK girl, we can relax a little bit. No stress, no stress,’” he told The News while driving back to Texas from Pensacola, Fla., where he coaches part-time at a club cheerleading gym.
At the end of the series, he mentioned joining the military and said the idea isn’t totally off the table, but his goals for 2021 include possibly studying radiology at Central Arkansas and trying his hand at Hollywood.
“I want to act so bad, and I feel like it’s time for me to do that,” Marshall said. “I feel like this year — 2021, no matter what’s going on in this world, I’m going to do it. I’m going to be a film star. It’s just in my blood.”
Gabi Butler
Butler had plans to return to Florida to spend more time with family at the end of the series, but she couldn’t stay away from Navarro for long. She was a member of the 2019-20 squad and is back this season.
Morgan Simianer
Simianer stepped up to perform in basket tosses and the pyramid when her team needed it most in the weeks leading up to Daytona two years ago, and though she remained with the squad through the cancellations of 2020, she does not appear to be on the current team.
Her Instagram, which has 1.2 million followers, features snapshots of travels to Greece, Turkey and the Dominican Republic plus sponsored partnerships with Buick, Pillsbury and Victoria’s Secret PINK.
Shannon Woolsey
Woolsey, a flyer featured in the series, returned to Navarro for the 2019-20 season but now balances student life at Texas Tech with a new job as a personal trainer. She is a member of the large coed cheerleading team and will graduate in 2022 with a degree in kinesiology.
Mackenzie “Sherbs” Sherburn
Like Woolsey, Sherburn was a flyer at Navarro and is now a member of the Texas Tech large coed squad. She joined the Red Raiders last year and will graduate this summer with a psychology degree. She plans to attend graduate school to pursue a career in sports psychology.
Monica Aldama
The mastermind behind all 14 of Navarro’s winning routines is still at the helm of the program, though Aldama does more than coach cheer these days. She placed ninth on Season 29 of Dancing with the Stars, records video podcasts and posts sponsorship content in partnership with brands like Samsung and Robitussin.
Jerry Harris
Harris was arrested in September on a federal child pornography charge. The Dallas Morning News previously reported that he pleaded not guilty in December. The Associated Press reported that Harris is being held at a federal detention facility in Chicago without bond. He has been there since his September arrest.
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