With the hiring of Kennedy Wingbermuehle, Central Methodist University is one step closer to adding its newest team sport. Recruitment is already underway for STUNT, one of the fastest-growing sports in the country.
With all of the technical and physical components of cheerleading but none of the crowd-leading elements, STUNT is an exciting sport that emphasizes both individual athleticism and collaborative teamwork. Teams compete head-to-head on the floor in short routines over four quarters of competition – partner stunts, pyramids and tosses, jumps and tumbling, and the team routine. A point is awarded each round to the team that best executes the skills.
Central Methodist will be joining a short but growing list of Missouri schools with STUNT teams – only three were active as of 2020. That number has recently tripled. The Eagles will compete in USA Cheer, along with several NCAA, NAIA, and NCJAA STUNT programs.
In Wingbermuehle, Central is getting an experienced competitor and proven winner ready and eager to get the program started in 2022. A 2021 graduate of Oklahoma State University, her team won STUNT nationals in 2019 and 2021. She was STUNT athlete of the year in 2019.
Wingbermuehle captained the OSU cheer team to its seventh national championship in Large Cheer Co-Ed Division 1A this spring. Now the Imperial, Mo. native has returned to her home state to put that experience to use.
“I’m excited to figure out my own way and use things I’ve learned from [OSU cheer coach Lindsay Bracken] and just apply that to getting this team going,” said Wingbermuehle. “STUNT is probably my favorite thing in the whole world, so getting that started from the ground up is going to be exciting.”
One of four children in a family of athletes, Wingbermuehle has been in competitive cheer since the age of six and over the years has made a lot of connections in the sport throughout the state. Those connections will come in handy in her new job, as she will look to recruit STUNT athletes in both the St. Louis area near her hometown and around Kansas City.
“I already have relationships in those areas, which is really nice for recruiting,” she said. “There’s a lot of talent coming out of there.”
In addition to her role as the STUNT coach, Wingbermuehle will serve as an admissions counselor, a job she is looking forward to because of the opportunities to travel and build relationships.