STATE COLLEGE — Gymnastics or cheerleading.

At age 12, Jordan Hinkle had already reached a crossroads in life.

“I was heavily involved in both and there just wasn't enough available time anymore to do both,” Hinkle recalled. “My mother told me I had to make a choice.

“I chose cheerleading.”

She chose right.

Hinkle is a sophomore on the Penn State University cheerleader squad. She is the only sophomore to make the Nittany Lions' competitive national team, which will compete at Disney World in Florida Jan. 17-19.

“She's our Division I athlete,” her mother, Heather Hinkle, said. “We're proud of what she's accomplished.”

Hinkle was a Level 4 gymnast when she decided to devote her full athletic time to cheerleading .

“I never progressed like the other kids my age because part of my time was with cheerleading,” she said. “When I had to stop and think about it, cheerleading was what I liked most.”

Involved in cheerleading since first grade, Hinkle wound up cheering with FCA Gems in Sarver from sixth grade through eighth. She was on the competitive cheering squad at Butler High School for four years.

The Golden Tornado cheerleaders qualify and compete at nationals every year at Disney World. Butler's highest finish at nationals during Hinkle's tenure was seventh.

“We practiced long hours,” she recalled. “I learned how to dance, about smiling and showing an attitude on the big stage.

“That experience definitely helped me down the road.”

Always having the goal of continuing her cheerleading career in college, Hinkle considered dismissing that idea when she decided upon attending Penn State.

“So many girls would be trying out ... I wasn't sure if I wanted to do it,” Hinkle said. “My parents talked me into it. They said to just go for it.”

Tryouts were April of her senior year in high school. More than 150 girls tried out over a weekend, with a round of cuts taking place each day.

Girls were judged on their tumbling, dance and cheering skills. Each was interviewed by coaches and graduating members of the squad as well.

“It was a nerve-wracking process,” Hinkle admitted.

Only 40 of the 150 girls who tried out were selected. Hinkle was among the 40 — and repeated the process this year as Penn State cheerleaders must try out every year.

Hinkle is the only sophomore cheerleader on academic scholarship at Penn State. She carries a 3.5 grade point average as a speech pathology major and maintained a 4.0 GPA through high school.

Cheerleading practice is 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday. Because she's also on the Nittany Lions' national team, Hinkle practices from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m.

“Our squad is always involved in various projects, we do a pep rally each week, we also cheer at men's and women's volleyball, men's and women's basketball and, this year, men's and women's ice hockey,” Hinkle said.

“The schedule gets pretty crazy. I'm up late at night quite a bit doing homework and I recently got a tutor to help me keep up with one class.

“I was very organized with my time in high school. In college, I've just had to step that up a notch,” she added.

And Hinkle regrets none of it.

“Not at all,” she said. “You feed off the energy of the crowd, especially at football games.

“I love doing this and I'm pretty proud of being on our national team.”