Highland Belles Former Directors
Cathy Wheat
For twenty-two years, Cathy Wheat served as the Highland Belles director. A former director for Irving High School's drill team, Mrs. Wheat helped make the Belles a reality by endorsing the drill team to the school board and helping the charter members gain acknowledgement.
She was a teacher for the American Dance/Drill School for over twenty years, and has taught at drill camps around the nation. Mrs. Wheat was chosen by Cheers magazine as the number one drill team instructor in the nation and was the first director to be inducted into the Drill Team Hall of Fame. She was a member of the Kilgore Rangerettes and graduated from Texas Tech University.
Many of the traditions that still exist today - the Fringe, the training schedule and the selection process for All Americans, Kick Company and Miss High Kick were implemented under Mrs. Wheat's direction. Mrs. Wheat retired from Highland Park High School in 2005.
Christie Crummel was named as the second director of the Highland Belles in 2005 after having a cross over year in 2004-2005 with Mrs. Wheat. Miss Crummel came to Highland Park after serving as a drill team director at Cleburne High School and Irving McArthur High School.
A seasoned instructor at Marching Auxiliaries, she introduced the Highland Belles to a second contest each year - the MA Grapevine Regional's contest. The team also began attending the Contest of Champions National Competition at Disney World in Orlando, Florida. One of the additions that Miss Crummel brought to Highland Park Belles was her expertise in Hip Hop. The Belles began to perform this type of routine at the homecoming game pep rally. She also grew the fine arts dance department tremendously, exposing her students to many forms of dance.
Under her direction, the Belles continued to excel at competing and winning in annual contests while maintaining their excellent performance level on the field and basketball court. Miss Crummel served from 2005-2011.
