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Members of the Grizzly Cheer Team at a recent home basketball game. (MSU-WP Photo)
Members of the Grizzly Cheer Team at a recent home basketball game. (MSU-WP Photo)
Posted: Mar 19, 2024

Grizzly Cheer Team open gyms, clinics, tryouts set

Dates have been set for Grizzly Cheer Team open gyms, clinics and tryouts at Missouri State University-West Plains (MSU-WP).

Open gyms will be:

  • 5 to 8 p.m. April 4 at the West Plains Civic Center, 110 St. Louis St.
  • 5 to 8 p.m. April 11 at the West Plains Civic Center
  • 5 to 8 p.m. April 16 at the West Plains Civic Center

Clinics are set for 4 to 8 p.m. April 19 and 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. April 20 at the Student Recreation Center, 323 W Trish Knight St. 

Tryouts will begin at 1 p.m. Saturday, April 20, at the Student Recreation Center on the MSU-WP campus. Fourteen individuals will be chosen at this time.

All current, prospective students invited

The open gyms, clinics and tryouts are open to area high school seniors and current and incoming MSU-WP students. No experience is necessary to be on the team.

Cheer team hopefuls must attend at least one of the two clinics to try out for the squad, Cheer Team Coach Stephanie Jeckstadt said. Attendance at both clinics is preferred, she added.

In addition to preparing for tryouts, the open gym and clinic sessions will give student athletes the opportunity to learn more about the demands of college cheerleading and begin learning the basics necessary to be successful collegiate cheerleaders, Jeckstadt said.

"We would like to invite any and all area high school seniors, as well as current MSU-WP students – men and women – interested in becoming a Grizzly cheerleader, to attend the open gyms, clinics and tryouts," Jeckstadt said.

Cheer team members will receive a scholarship awarded by the coach each year for being part of the team, Jeckstadt said.

The cheer team attends home games for the Grizzly volleyball, Grizzly basketball and Grizzly Softball teams, as well as some away games and community and university events.

For more information, including tryout requirements, contact Jeckstadt at 417-293-9801, visit the group's Facebook fan page, Facebook.com/GrizzlyCheerTeam, or check out the team's Instagram page, @msuwpgrizzly_cheer.