STUNT Finishes Historic Season With Impressive Weekend

Martin, Tenn. – The Centenary College STUNT team completed its inaugural season with a successful weekend in a tournament hosted by the University of Tennessee at Martin inside Skyhawk Fieldhouse.

The Ladies tallied 40 points and earned six of those in the four games over the weekend. On Saturday, Centenary team played two games - one versus Missouri State University to open the tournament and followed it up with a battle against host UT Martin. 

"We knew going into this tournament that both the Bears and the Skyhawks were going to be tough team for us," said Centenary head coach Kaylee King. While we didn't place points on the board, the Ladies played well and started off the tournament strong."

"We had some very noticeable and impressive improvements from the weeks prior and sophomore Ezmeriah Gonzalez (Longview, Texas) showcased her back handspring for the first time. Following the game, there was great sportsmanship shown, especially from UT Martin where our two teams practiced together. That was a wonderful and uplifting sight to see. It made me proud of both teams and this sport at its core." 

On Sunday morning, the Ladies were back in action to take on first year DI program Northern Kentucky where they held the score to an 8-5 finish going toe to toe with the Norse and were merely outscored due to a lack of tumbling for the jumps and tumbling quarter. The final game of the 2025 season saw Centenary playing the Sugar Bears of Central Arkansas, where the Ladies were able to score one point to end the season and reach that 40-point total.

"The game against Northern Kentucky was a true battle. It was fun to coach and fun to watch. Our team played great. I could not have asked for a better performance out of them. Unfortunately, we just lack the tumbling to be able to claim the points in the jumps and tumbling routines that we needed to get the win. I look forward to facing off against them next season when we're both in year two." 

"Wrapping up the season and game four of the tournament against Central Arkansas was tough. We played well but unfortunately not to our best abilities. We did however put a point on the board, and we were proud of that since they are a D1 school and that's just not something most DIII programs are able to do. I was still very proud of how we ended the season and that game."

As the first and only NCAA Varsity STUNT team in the state of Louisiana this season and the only DIII team in the south, Centenary was forced to play cross divisional the entire season. 

"Our schedule was no easy feat for a first-year program or a DIII program at that. We played the most games of any DIII college, and we were the only ones to never see another DIII all season long. That's hard on a small roster team like us. But these ladies pushed through with great tenacity." 

In total, the team went 163 rounds of play averaging 10 rounds of play per game with four athletes earning all 163 rounds. 

"The things this team accomplished this season was most definitely more than I could have ever imagined for our first season. It goes far beyond the scoreboard, and I give them major credit for doing things that others couldn't and wouldn't do. They stuck around and chose to leave that mark and build that legacy for the future STUNT teams at Centenary. They poured countless hours, blood, sweat, and tears into this new sport all while going to class and being on the cheer team. That's not easy for anyone and to still have so much success makes me very proud of them." 

For the season, senior Avery Cauley (Little Rock, Ark.), sophomore Kaitlynne Anderson (Carlisle, Pa.), Ezmeriah Gonzalez, and freshman Trinity Bustamento (Blanchard, La.), earned 164 rounds of play while sophomore Leah Dawson (Shreveport, La.) earned 160. Sophomore Alli Ledoux (Port Barre, La.) and freshman Bryanna Hutcherson (Normangee, Texas) went for 154 rounds and junior Jo Hoffman (Ragley, La.), sophomore Harleigh Doherty (Cincinnati, Ohio), and sophomore Briara Thompson (Bossier City, La.) played 139. Rounding out the team were sophomore J'Anna Sweat (Pitkin, La.), with 141 and sophomore Dalila Ramirez (Austin, Texas) with 127. 

Avery Cauley was voted MVP versus Missouri State, Alli Ledoux was selected as the MVP against UT Martin, Kaitlynne Anderson was selected in the game vs. NKU and Bryanna Hutcherson wrapped up the season's MVPs versus UCA.

The team currently sits eighth of 13 in the nation in DIII rankings. Even though they are done playing, they will continue to receive rankings until the national championship qualifiers are announced in April. 

See the complete Ladies' season schedule here: https://www.gocentenary.com/sports/stunt/2024-25/schedule

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