Taylor Armstrong Tulsa Union High School yearbook photos as Shana Hughes

I was doing some research on the mysterious past of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills‘ Taylor Armstrong when I ran across these yearbook photos of her when she was a senior named Shana Hughes at Tulsa Union High School in Oklahoma.

The majority of Taylor’s past still remains an intriguing mystery checkered with numerous business start-ups and almost as many aliases including Shana Hughes, Shana Ford, Shana Taylor, Taylor Ford and Taylor Ford-Armstrong during her 39 years on this planet. But there is one period we seem to have pretty much nailed down, and that is from 1988-1989 during which Taylor was an attractive (and remarkably thin-lipped in contrast) member of the Tulsa Union High School cheerleading squad that won a national competition in 1988.

Here is Shana hoisting the squad’s trophy:

Believe it or not, Shana was actually quoted in People magazine the following year when her squad returned to defend their title. The magazine asked Shanna (with an extra “n”) what she though Tulsa Union’s chances were for repeating as champs, to which Shana gave a rather startling answer:

Last year’s best large varsity team was Tulsa (Okla.) Union High School. This year, though, Tulsa Union senior Shanna Hughes isn’t optimistic. “Our chances are slim to none,” she says. For one thing, “our coach won’t let us do any dancing with our legs apart or anything that looks kind of, well, you know….”

I’m guessing a cheerleading routine in which all the girls keep their legs together could be rather lame and would consist mainly of hopping and somersaults. (I’m kidding – just taking Taylor’s Shana’s comments too literally)

Here’s a group shot of the Tulsa Union High School varsity cheerleading squad from the yearbook – Shana Hughes is in the front row second from the left:

And here’s Taylor striking an adorable pose in her cheerleading uniform on the living room floor:

Any fellow Union High students out there have photos or stories to share? We’d love to hear from you! Leave a comment below or email us at starcasmtips (at) yahoo.com.