Cheering on the Cowboys
By Donna Olmstead
Albuquerque Journal
New Mexico native Jessica Montoya could use some home field advantage to become one of America’s Sweethearts as a member of the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders.
She’s headed to finals this weekend for another audition, but enough online voting before Saturday could win her a spot at training camp, she says.
“They let one girl with the most votes get a free pass through finals. But even if you make it into training camp, it doesn’t mean you make it onto the team,” says Montoya, a former Rio Grande High Castanette and University of New Mexico Chaparral. Montoya, 25, who was also a New York Jets cheerleader for a season, has won her way through several rounds of competition and through the semifinals: “I’m doing it for the passion, love and experience.”
Montoya has been living and working in New York, where she completed her education with an undergraduate degree in musical theater and a master’s in media and communication, but she would also like to have a spot on the team to be closer to her family in Albuquerque, especially her young niece. “It’s easier to fly home from Dallas, than from New York,” she says, adding she’s back home working on her final routine.
