Ball State University - Orient Yearbook (Muncie, IN)

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Rocky Rothrock All work and no play is definitely not the Theta chi motto as Megan Garrett and Kelle Greeson dem- onstrate. The pair displayed the carefree spirit en- joyable for all par- ticipants. Tug-O-Ware 2 5 a

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24 -Tus-0-War Masters of mud-making In an early qualifying round, Kathy Kantra, Pam Shay and Margie Huseland hold off their opponent. The women’s efforts resulted in a second-place finish for Alpha Phi sorority. continued When the announcer needed the two team captains at the stand for the toss, we realized we hadn't picked a team captain. Suddenly, everyone looked at me. | suppose | deserved it since I'd been bragging all morning about being a veteran mud tugger, and my being a senior didn’t help matters. Now my team had faith in me to win the toss as if | had some mystical power to flip the coin in our favor, and the pressure built as a voice behind me said, “If we lose the toss we're doomed.” Nevertheless, | optimistically ap- proached the announcer’s stand to face the opposing team’s captain. | decided to call tails for the simple reason that I'd never won a toss by calling heads. The quarter seemed to spin in slow motion, and just as it looked like tails would have it, the quarter rested heads up. My suspicions had failed me, and | had failed my team. My teammates’ smiles suddenly sunk into “what-have-you-done-to-us” Out of breath, Jim Anderson pulls himself out of the muddy pit. Many teams tried to avoid being pulled in, but as the rope moved along one team always succumbed. frowns as they shuffled to the mud- dier end of the pit. I felt like I'd just fumbled the ball at our own five-yard line in a tied foot- ball game, so I shyly inched to the back of the tug line and picked up the rope. At any rate, they were crazy if they thought I’d hang on and go down with my ship like any good captain should. The crowd around us, having seemed so loud before, faded out as we concentrated on pulling in unity and at least doing well enough to avoid total humiliation. When the rope was even at both ends, the countdown began--“One, two, three, TUG!”--and | pulled with everything | had. The initial surge put us in the lead as | saw my feet move slowly further backward. But then something hap- pened. My feet lost traction on the flattened grass, the rope at my end got shorter, and the distance to the pit decreased. Not mentally prepared for the cold, heavy bath I was about to take, | pull- } wie ang te on Rocky Rothrock eRocky Rothrock ed and grunted and winced until finally all hope was lost. The oppos- ing team gave a final yank, and one by one my teammates plopped into the pit. Amazingly enough, | escaped the mud, but losing still hurt a little. As we stood in line to use the hose, | made a big mistake. | turned to a teammate and said, “I can’t believe I've stayed this spotless.” She just had to do it. She just had to say, “Well, I can fix that” and wrapped her gooey arms around me, hugging her muddy clothes against my formerly white shirt. At that time, | made up my mind to retreat from the scene lest someone throw me in. While the remaining teams cheered for the winners and competed for the spirit award, | packed into the little Camaro with six other girls and head- ed home. My last chance at not-so- clean college fun was over, and | decided to make the most of my re- maining months at Ball State. After all, | had to leave my mark somehow. @

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Airbound cheerleader Wendy Spegal performs a lofty somersault as co- cheerleaders Todd Falk and Mick Wright prepare to provide a stable lan- ding. The Cardinal squad displayed a variety of traditional as well as in- genious stunts. 26 cheerleaders eAndrew Johnston Practice In precision Cheerleaders’ work pays off in national ranking eby Robin Jo Millse The university’s cheerleading squad was one of 20 selected to compete in the National Cheerleading Association finals. The group’s journey began with a three minute video tape and ended with a l6th place finish among the country’s finest cheerleading squads. The schools that participated in the competition were selected from nearly 100 entries. Each of the universities submitted a tape of cheerleaders per- forming their routine, incorporating dance, tumbling, stunts and a cheer. The squad began practice and train- ing in September. The members generally practiced twice a week for cheering at games, according to Speedway junior Sherri Cork. However, in preparation for the NCA finals, practice time was increased greatly. “After we found out we made the finals, we practiced every day but Wednesday,” Cork said. The practices ran three hours through the week, —d = Se eAndrew Johnston five hours Friday evenings and eight hours on Sundays. Besides practicing their routine, the cheerleaders had heavy workouts. Daily training sessions included runn- ing, aerobics, push-ups and sit-ups, according to Kokomo junior Eric Clouser. “We were really working for endurance,” Clouser said. “Three minutes doesn’t seem like a long time, but when you are doing gym- nastics and stunts, it’s a long time.” The squad’s routine consisted of one cheer, gymnastics, stunts, four pyramids and dancing. The program was choreographed to the songs “Oh, Sheila,” “Hungry Eyes,” and “You Spin Me Around.” After four long months of practice, the cheerleaders headed south to Orlando, Fla., to face their com- petitors. The preliminaries were held Jan. 5, in an outdoor arena at the EPCOT Center. An estimated 4,500 spectators looked on as the 20 squads performed in the first round. The first portion of the competition comprised 25 percent of the squads’ final scores. “It covered technique in building pyramids, stunts and safety,” Clouser said. In the finals, held at the Orange County Civic Center, the squads were judged on choreography, tumbling, personality and overall performance. This portion of the competition was worth 75 percent of the final score. The team’s months of hard work and sacrifice paid off as the squad placed 16th among college cheerleaders in the United States. Cork said, although the members of the squad got on each other's nerves after long hours together, they also got really close. Clouser also felt the time and effort were woth the results. “It was exciting and fun,” Clouser said. “We were treated like celebrities when we were there. We've already started working for next year.” @