Nighthawk cheer team announced
National Park College has filled out its rosters for the first Nighthawk cheer team and the men’s and women’s basketball teams ahead of the school’s first season of club sports.
The team includes students from six area high schools. Each member has more than two years of cheer and dance experience.
“The excitement amongst the cheerleaders is unreal,” Ricki Rebollar, cheer coach and student life coordinator, said.
Arkadelphia High School graduate Brooke Neel is this year’s team captain. The co-captain is Ethan Cooper, a graduate of Lake Hamilton High School.
The squad features fellow Lake Hamilton alumni Allie Fox and Jeffery Stone, Cutter Morning Star High School graduates Jacquline Dixson and Emma McKnight,
Hot Springs World Class High School graduate Cecilia Lopez, Mountain Pine High School graduate Lindsay Johnson and Jordan Simpson, a graduate of Glen Rose High School.
Students at the college selected the Nighthawk a year ago as the school’s second-ever mascot to end a four-month process. Faculty, staff and members of the community helped students compile a selection of suggestions and whittle the list down.
The Nighthawk received more than 54 percent of the votes of the final three choices from 499 votes cast by students and 141 by faculty and staff. The final vote included 34 percent for the Rangers and 11 percent for the Explorers.
The search was undertaken to add a deeper sense of engagement and community to the NPC community. The college took the measures a step further in March when plans were announced to start club sports this year with men’s and women’s basketball.
Previously announced members of the men’s basketball team are Pierre Adair, Guilford High School in Rockford, Ill.; Tae Blevins, Cutter Morning Star; Westin Church, Pea Ridge High School; K.J. Corder, Hot Springs; Seth Duke, Gravette High School; Jordan Harper, Lake Hamilton; Dusty Kesterson, Umpire High School; Desmond Pinson, Umpire; Frederick Robinson, Mineral Springs High School; Michael Sims, Cutter Morning Star; Braylon Steen, Bryant High School; Lowell Washington, Bryant; and Logan Willett, Faith Prep Academy in West Memphis.
Hot Springs alum Dominique Pondexter, a 2016 graduate, is among three players added to the roster. The team also includes Clyde Ricks, Hope High School, and Jarvis Ricks, North Little Rock High School.
Hope bested Hot Springs to end the Trojans’ three-year reign as 5A-South conference champions last season. Jarvis Ricks scored a crucial game-tying basket for North Little Rock to make the score 49-49 in the Class 7A final at Bank of the Ozarks Arena in March, but Fort Smith Northside escaped with a
50-49 win for the title.
The first team members on the women’s basketball roster were Kacie Anderson, Kirby High School; Anna Ledbetter, Lake Hamilton; Brooke Meeks, Mountain Pine; Jaylin Ramsey, Kirby; Kayla Sims, Fountain Lake Charter High School; and Bailey Womack, also from Fountain Lake. New players added to the roster are Demi Bratton, Cutter Morning Star, and Faith Bratton, Jessieville.
The Nighthawks are scheduled to open the season on Nov.
6 with men’s and women’s games against visiting Crowley’s Ridge College. The men’s team will be at home again on Nov. 11 to face Williams Baptist College.
“My expectations for the group this year is to encourage school spirit to the student body and the NPC community,” Rebollar said of the cheer team. “Also, for our students to have a positive attitude and to have fun.”
Members of the Nighthawk cheer team receive a $500 scholarship for the academic year.