Practice makes perfect for Arkansas States Male Cheerleaders

While cheerleading remains a female dominated sport in the middle school and even high school years it is important to know that male cheerleaders make up aproximatley 50% of cheerleaders at the collegiate level. Just like everyone on the squad , male cheerleaders are committed to training and making their routines perfect for competitions and performance. For all cheerleaders practice is essential but in this instance our A-state red wolves are practicing to make perfect. With the hard work and effort of each team member, we zero in on some of the most important team members The male cheerleaders, as they prepare for NCA & NDA’s collegiate cheer and dance championship. This will be held April 3rd-7th , 2019 in Daytona Beach, Florida.

22 year old Junior Otha Bell said that he is more excited for nationals next semester just because the program is switching from UCA to NCA. They are very excited for this huge transition and ready to make a great impact on their judges and showing competitors what they are made of. Otha joined A-states cheerleading this fall semester and has been thriving for his squad ever since. He describes his experience as ” something you may not see anywhere else” . Otha explains that being an African American male cheerleader is rare because growing up you’re not taught to cheer, only to play male dominated sports such as football and basket ball and sometimes even rugby , But his experience has been remarkable thus far. Nonetheless the team continues to shift gears from football season on to basketball season and from there nationals. As they prepare for this shift  they focus on perfecting their stunting and tumbling.

 21 year old junior Matthew Ramussen who is also one of A-states very own male cheerleaders expresses how hectic  it can become trying to balance school and prepare for nationals! He says ” I’m very excited, I think once this semester is over ill be able to focus better for nationals and I know I have to personally work on my craft as far as tumbling and stunting ” over all Matthew, Otha and the other hard working male and female cheerleaders are looking forward to dominating Daytona beach and having a blast in April. Wishing the A-State cheerleading team the best of luck in the NCA nationals this spring! if you’d like to hear more about the lives of our A-State male cheerleaders there is a link/ video highlight below.

also to learn more about the NCA & NDA national championship click the link below

https://nca.varsity.com/College/Nationals

South African Dream

 

The video above is that of Tiaan Steenkamp. He is a South African native who moved his life across oceans to America in hopes of reaching greatness in Track and Field: specifically High Jump. Steenkamp is a high jumper for the Arkansas State Redwolves and has accomplished pretty much every accomplishment you can as a track and field athlete except for winning nationals. Before coming to AState, Tiaan was a multiple time South African youth champion and placed eighth at the world youth championships while also competing in the world junior championships. While attending university, Steenkamp has dominated the Sun Belt Conference with three indoor championships and one outdoor championship, as well as placing 10th at nationals and qualifying for regionals three times. This year however, his senior year, Steenkamp is looking for more. Before he has the decision/process of becoming a US citizen or packing up and heading back to South Africa, he is looking to go for gold. Winning nationals would put the exclamation point on Steenkamp’s career and would be the next step in an Olympic run for whatever country he competes for. He practices everyday with those practices varying in objectives. Some days he will have sprints and plyos followed by some jumping exercises into the long jump pit and then a quick trip to the weight room. Other days the whole practice is spent perfecting the rhythm in his step and run-up then working on how to project as much power through the ground into the air and over the bar. His positional coach Matt Vining was a high jumper in college and a Conference champion in the multi. Vining knows exactly how to put Tiaan over the edge if they can just get it perfected before seasons end. To qualify for nationals, Steenkamp must be in the top percentile of High Jumpers in the nation. Be on the lookout for Tiaan’s success throughout the year as track season is about to get under way. The first indoor meet is at home directly before holiday break and outdoor season will begin in the fall.

Red Wolves outlast Texas State in Volleyball Thriller

The Arkansas State Volleyball team knocked off the Bobcats of Texas State Friday night at First National Bank Arena in five sets. The Red Wolves improve to 8-4 in Sun Belt play after serving Texas State their first conference loss.

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Senior Carlisa May finished with 22 blocks for A-State in the win.

Interview with Carlisa May, Game Highlights

The Red Wolves assumed command of the match early in front of a fired up crowd notably including the A-State Football team, winning the first set 25-18, but the Bobcats stormed back, taking the second set 25-17. Through two, Texas State had outscored A-State by a single point as the teams split the sets.

The third set was a back-and-forth slugfest between the two teams, but Texas State ultimately pulled away 25-19. The momentum had completely shifted after A-State’s first-set domination. The Bobcats led 2-sets-to-1 going into the pivotal fourth set.

A-State wasn’t ready to give up just yet, though, as they won the fourth set 25-18, tying the match at two sets apiece, setting up a winner-take-all fifth set.

In a nail-biting final set, the teams went back and forth. A-State took a 14-10 lead but gave up three points in a row to cut the lead to one. May took control, finishing the set off with her 22nd kill of the evening. The Red Wolves somehow found a way to bring it home, winning the final set, 15-13, and the match, three sets to two.

The season series between the two is now tied, with each team earning a victory on their home floor.

The Red Wolves will be back in action Sunday for their final home contest of the season. They will host UT-Arlington at noon at First National Bank Arena in Jonesboro.

Domination On the Pitch

Arkansas State Has Become A Powerhouse in Collegiate Rugby

When a team is great for multiple years, they call that team a dynasty. Which is exactly what Arkansas State’s Rugby club sport has become.

This is a sport that knows victory as the last National Championships won at Arkansas State have come from Rugby as they won the USA Rugby 7s National Championships in back to back years in 2013-2013 along with appearing in the National Championship of 15’s in 2012 in a loss to BYU.

Interview with Sophomore Calvin Gentry

In 2017/18, Arkansas State reached the Quarterfinals of D1A falling to BYU, and after finishing second in their group for USA Rugby 7’s, they would fall in the quarterfinals of the Plate group.

7 Arkansas State players selected to All-Conference Team

After, going through some coaching changes and reloading the roster the past few years, 2018/19 could be another big year for Arkansas State. Currently sitting at #10 in the D1A rankings and with the #1 team coming up on the schedule and arguably the hardest division in Rugby, the road won’t be easy.

Current D1A Rugby Rankings

Arkansas State Rugby 2018 Schedule

One thing is for sure though, expectations and hopes are high and the determination of this team is unmatched to capture another National Championship.

For more information on Arkansas State Rugby check out their page.

Official A-State Rugby Page

 

Arkansas State red wolves women’s bowling welcomes two special members this season

Arkansas state women’s bowling head coach Justin Kostick introduced us to two new key players who are also transfers. 21-year-old (senior) general studies major Denisyha Waller from Markham, Illinois who transferred from Texas Southern University and Krysta Peirce (junior) 20-year-old marketing analytics major from Casco, Michigan who transferred from Franklin Pierce University. The two transfers may come from different cities and backgrounds but both stories about what led them to A-state have many similarities.

( Krysta Peirce & Denisyah Waller)

For Krysta, Franklin Pierce unfortunately removed their women’s bowling team, she did not give up something so passionate to her luckily Coach Justin Kostick reached out to her and offered for her to join the A-state Red Wolves and she accepted. Krysta now looks forward to this up coming season and expects to learn a little bit more about herself and perfecting her craft.

(Krysta Peirce)

Almighty transfer Denisyah Waller said she was drawn in to Arkansas State per the credibility and academic standards of the institution and now I’m apart of one of the best bowling teams. Denisyah says “I’ve always dreamed of coming here and actually playing for the team along with getting a really good education”. Denisyha plans to bring more experience to the team this year contrary to bowling since the age of 7, being featured on ESPN Network and bowling for Texas Southern for a number of 3 years.

(Denisyah Waller)

The two transfers are ecstatic for the 2018-2019 season plan to make the most out if their tenure here at A-state.( Krysta Peirce , Justin Kostic (Head Coach), Denisyah Waller) – Red wolves up!

To learn move about the up coming Women’s Bowling season and other players please visit :http://www.astateredwolves.com/SportSelect.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=7200&SPID=2800&SPSID=35559&DB_OEM_ID=7200 .

A look back at Cameron Stalnaker’s Career at Arkansas State University

– Portrait of Cameron Stalnaker before the upcoming season

Cameron Stalnaker, 22-year-old Senior ran track and field for Searcy High School where he holds the current record of 15’1 in the high jump event. Upon graduating with honors he made the decision to attend Arkansas State University to further his track career of 6 years to now 10 years. Leaving the career behind a personal record of 16’5 or 5 meters, gaining multiple other personal records along the way and medals on the podium. Cameron was proud of his career, and picked up many achievements on and off of the track.

When reflecting back on his career Cameron said, “My career at Arkansas State was great. My event was Pole Vaulting on the Arkansas State Track and Field team. I set many personal records for myself and learned so much about how to manage my time and be successful at the college level. Always having team mates that had my back through thick and thin and encouraging me every single time down the runway is unlike anything. Track and Field taught me how to prioritize and how to just be a better version of myself.”

– Cameron Stalnaker moments before his personal record breaking high jump

 

To incoming freshman, he stated “The best advice I can give is to start the every day ready to learn, make yourself better in any way you can, and to keep a positive outlook on what you have in front of you. Learn how to manage your time efficiently as quickly as you can, this is vital in being an athlete and a full-time college student at the same time.”

 

 

Ultimate Frisbee at Arkansas State University

The Arkansas State University Ultimate Frisbee team is preparing for an upcoming tournament the weekend of October 20th. The team put in a strong showing at a recent tournament in Nashville, and are working on their conditioning to prepare for the upcoming tournament and future national qualifiers. Co-captain Jeremy DeLon said they have to work extra hard on their conditioning due to the size of their team. Many schools they compete against have many more bodies to use during the game.

Aubrey Kelley “pulls” the frisbee, initiating the kickoff of the point.

The team has practices similar to a Division 1 atmosphere. They partake in drills, scrimmages, conditioning, and the captains act as coaches, breaking down what went wrong in a certain set. They regularly position themselves in “traps” and other bad situations, working on how to play out of adverse positions. The team lost its previous captains to graduation, but co-captains Jeremy DeLon and Drew Slaven have stepped in to lead the team. The captains act as coaches, running practices and organizing the team during matches.

Kyle Walker catches the frisbee for a point during a scrimmage.

ASU Disc Golf: From Initiation to Success

Nathan Hatler

nathan.hatler@smail.astate.edu

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Jonesboro, Arkansas (10/05/18) – The disc golf team representing Arkansas State is swinging back in action after their hiatus ended in 2016. With the rapid success in the competitions they’ve competed in, they are making a name for themselves in the Southern Collegiate Disc Golf Association.  The ASU disc golf team is part of the first and only collegiate conference in the nation.

Eli Webb Interview

The team is led by Captains Kellan McCann and Parker Sitton who have made an excellent effort to lead their team to consistently strong victories across the south. Parker Sitton also plays for ASU track. Last weekend (9/30) the team swept Ole Miss winning all four points in the single matches and both points in the doubles for a total of 6-0. Arkansas State leads the SCDGA East conference with 10 points followed closely by Ole Miss with 9 points.

Parker Sitton Track & Field

SCDGA website

Kellan McCann throwing with his teammates at Craighead Forest.

Eli Webb, a team player, says “We’re pretty confident that we can perform well this year at conference and get that bid to nationals. Especially with these new guys, just to get all the way to nationals, because we feel we have a really good chance this year at taking the title”.

The team carry their disc bags full of different types of discs.

 

The team also forms a strong bond together traveling across the south and finding time in their schedule to practice up to four times a week at the intramural fields and Craighead Forest. Clear skies, hot or cold weather, or even rain, the team keeps up their practicing and coordination to keep their skills sharp and to ensure their standing in the conference. The team plays at Lyon college this Sunday (10/7).

SCDGA schedule 2018/19 season

 

The Next National Champions?

The Home of the Lady Red Wolves Bowling Team is Hijinx Game Night Reinvented

Jonesboro, Arkansas (09/28/18)- Whats the most nationally competitive NCAA team on the campus of Arkansas State University? Is it football? How about Volleyball? The answer, neither of those two. For the past nine years, the biggest national contender on campus has been A-State’s Women’s Bowling team.

Coming off a stellar 2017/18 campaign where, for the fifth straight year, the Lady Red Wolves racked up another Tied for 5th place finish in the NCAA Tournament and a final ranking of third, expectations are high for this season and for good reason. After losing now PWBA tour winner Jordan Richards to graduation, the Lady Red Wolves have reloaded with a great roster for this season.

Coach Justin Kostick previews the 2018/19 season

For 2018, the Red Wolves return Junior Julia Huren who, over the summer break, claimed the 2018 Junior Gold Championships for the Under 20 division and is set for a stellar campaign. Joining her from last year’s team are now Sophomores Leah Glazer and Taylor Davis. Outside of those three, the Lady Red Wolves have a roster full of Freshmen and two highly touted transfers in Krysta Pierce and Denisyha Waller, who was the SWAC bowler of the year just two seasons ago.

Julia Huren wins the Junior Gold Championship U20 division

(Courtesy of Arkansas State University Athletics)

The Lady Red Wolves practice for the upcoming season

Junior Julia Huren looks forward to the 2018/19 season

The Lady Red Wolves will kick off the season October 26th-28th with the Bearcat Hammer Open, before competing at the Track Kat Klash in Houston, Texas and the Warhawk Classic in Milwaukee, Wisconsin before Winter Break.  for the full schedule you can check out the 2018 A-State Bowling schedule.

2018/19 A-State Women’s Bowling Roster

(Courtesy of Arkansas State University Athletics)

Carlisa May’s Impact

Story by: Rob Nelson

Arkansas State volleyball (10-5) has been a force to be reckoned with for the past several seasons, but no season sticks out more than the team’s undefeated Sun Belt run in 2015. In a stellar campaign that saw miraculous comebacks, dominating shutouts, and a SportsCenter Top 10 appearance resulted in an astonishing 25-1 record, and a perfect 16-0 in conference play.

One of the key pieces of that championship team, Carlisa May, is still contributing in all-star fashion in her senior season. May, a freshman during the championship run, won multiple weekly accolades and was ultimately awarded the title of Sun Belt Freshman of the Year.

“Her maturation process has been huge.” said head coach David Rehr when asked about her development during her career with Arkansas State. “The biggest thing about [May] is she’s always wanting to learn more… she doesn’t feel like she’s a complete product yet. She was in last week working on a specific shot that really worked for her over the weekend.”

Her work ethic shows: May earned her fifteenth career weekly award from the conference, being named Offensive Player of the Week. She currently leads the Sun Belt in kills per set with an impressive 4.75 mark, nearly a full kill ahead of second place (3.77). She racked up 17 kills in last Friday’s 3-0 sweep of the Troy Trojans, and 29 in a thrilling five-set comeback against the Jaguars of South Alabama, the highest single-game kill mark in the Sun Belt this season.

 

With two solid wins to open conference play, the team looks ahead. When asked about the energy the team has after a 0-2 comeback win, Rehr says it’s “vindication that we’re doing things right.” May is optimistic about the remainder of the season, saying her expectation “is to compete. We played two big teams this weekend, I think us playing our game and finding our identity as a team and brining that into conference play is [our goal] right now.”

 

The team will continue Sun Belt play this Friday, as they travel to Texas facing UT Arlington, followed by Texas State on Saturday.

Carlisa May Interview

Arkansas State Volleyball Schedule