NORMAN, Okla. — When Kayle Marshall auditioned to be a member of the Oklahoma City Thunder’s cheer team for the first time last year, she was excited. It was something she wanted to experience. However, as she went through the process, she really didn’t know what it meant to be part of the group.

This year was totally different. As Marshall competed against dozens of other women from around the country to make the 2015-16 squad, she knew exactly what was on the line and there was no way she was going to give up her spot without a fight.

“It was kind of a different story this year,” Marshall said. “Last year, trying out, I didn’t have a spot to keep. If I made it, I made it. If I didn’t, I didn’t. This year was different because I was fighting to keep my spot.”

Marshall was one of 34 women who made the finals of the Thunder Girl auditions Thursday at the Showplace Theatre in Riverwind Casino. In the end, Marshall and 18 other women were named to the team and when she heard her name called, her emotions got the best of her.

“Hearing them call my name, I remember I was just sitting back stage holding all the girls hands,” Marshall said. “I remember right when they called my name, I think I screamed at the top of my lungs. And I think I was galloping out there to Paige (Carter), and gave her the biggest hug.

I was just so excited and tears came to my eyes. I am just so excited to do this all over again.”

The audition included team veterans, like Marshall, and newcomers. Of the women selected, seven are new to the squad.

“I am excited to enter a new season with this outstanding group,” said Carter, the dance team manager and choreographer for the Thunder. “Thunder Girls engage with our fans on and off the court, and sometimes even across the globe. These ladies will add excitement and energy to the Thunder experience at Chesapeake Energy Arena, as well as being excellent community ambassadors.”

One of the newcomers is Alicia Clifton, who is no stranger to the big stage after winning the Miss Oklahoma pageant in 2012.

“I’m glad I got the opportunity. It was something I really wanted to do for a long time,” Clifton said. “For me personally, having done a few different competitive things in my life, I don’t know if there is a way to compare them directly. But I think at the end, it’s setting a high goal for yourself and working hard to try and achieve that goal. Knowing that, if you put in all of your effort, focus, time and energy, then no matter what the outcome is, you still feel successful in the end because you know you worked hard for it.”

The final audition process consisted of three rounds: a choreographed jazz/hip-hop routine, a question-and-answer session and a solo dance. While the process may have been overwhelming for the first timers, in her third year of making the team, Sarah Jackson has adjusted to the pressure.

“I wasn’t necessarily nervous, just excited to do my best,” said Jackson. “To prove to myself, and my teammates and my coach why I had been selected to be on the team for the past two years and why I deserved to be on the team again. I think I just put a lot of pressure on myself and at the end of it, I think I went out there and did the best that I could. I had the time of my life. It was incredible.”

Jackson is in her senior year at the University of Central Oklahoma and plans to become an accountant after graduation. But she doesn’t know when she will stop wanting to be a Thunder Girl.

Regardless of whether they are veterans or newcomers, all the ladies who made the team seemed to come for the same reason. While the majority of Thunder fans only see the work they do on the court during games, it’s the things they do away from the spotlight that make them want to come back for more each year.

“Not only do we get to touch other people’s lives, I feel like my life is equally as touched,” Jackson said. “And influenced by these people we get to meet on a daily basis that I wouldn’t get to meet if I wasn’t a Thunder Girl.” 

For Marshall, the moment of truly being a Thunder Girl struck her when she visited a 9-year old boy named Austin at the OU Children’s hospital. He was dying of brain cancer and she joined former Thunder coach Scott Brooks as part of the Make a Wish Foundation last year.

“All he wanted was to meet someone from the Thunder,” Marshall said. “Unfortunately, he was unconscious at the time. Just hearing his family talk to us, that this means the world to him even though he can’t respond to you guys right now. We just got off the topic of his condition and just talked. It just really made me realize that just spending 30 minutes with someone can make their entire week, their day, their year. We got a letter two months later that they took Austin off the ventilator, and his family was just like we want to thank you so much. He knows that you guys were there and he loved every minute. You never realize how much you can make someone’s life just by the little things you do.”

Each year the tryouts to become Thunder Girls have become bigger and bigger. This year the auditions consisted of performers from Texas, Missouri, California, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Tennessee and ofcourse Oklahoma.

“It’s like the most rewarding thing you could probably ever do in your life,” Marshall said. “And there was no way that I could just stop it right there last season. I just want to continue doing this and doing this.”

Marshall is already looking forward to the first game of the season. More than likely, she will have a similar reaction to her first game last year.

“I remember the first home game and stepping on the court and getting chills,” said Marshall. “Hearing everyone scream and I was thinking this is the best thing ever. Tears came to my eyes. I knew right then, I’m here for a reason and this is what I’m supposed to be doing.”

Kinney writes for The Norman (Oklahoma) Transcript.