2023 Cary High Gymnastics Media Guide

2023 CARY HIGH IMPS

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Enrollment

2,071 students

Founded 1896

Mascot Imp

Colors Kelly Green and White

Motto Cognitio Vincit

District Wake County Public School System

Conference 4A East Conference 29

Address 638 Walnut St, Cary, NC 27511

Thank you for your support of Cary High School Athletics. We are proud of our coaches, players, cheerleaders, and marching band. They represent the Cary High School tradition of excellence in competitive spirit and sportsmanship. Valuable lessons are learned through participation in extracurricular activities. Dedication, cooperation, hard work, and commitment help students develop important skills and attitudes that go far beyond the playing field and last longer than the current sports season. Their experiences will enable them to meet future opportunities and challenges with confidence and perseverance.

As we enter into our 103rd year of athletics at Cary High School, we are extremely thankful for the history of support we have received from our school family. Whether you have supported us from the stands, on the field, or behind the scenes, you have played an essential role in helping further Cary Athletics. We appreciate your continued support of our student athletes and the financial needs of our programs. Thank you for all that you do for Cary High School.

Go Imps!

Nolan Bryant Principal

Greetings from the Home of the Imps, and welcome to another exciting year of Cary High Athletics!

I am proud to be beginning my second year as the Athletic Director at Cary High School. As a Cary Alum, I am very fortunate to be a member of the Cary High community, with it’s tradition, proud history and dedication that surrounds the oldest public high school in the state of North Carolina. It is a true honor to welcome you to an environment that cultivates academic and athletic accomplishment while embracing Excellence, Discipline and Sportsmanship.

Cary High School is a proud member of the North Carolina High School Athletic Association (NCHSAA), and South Western Athletic Conference (SWAC) that fields boys and girls athletic programs in 40 Varsity and Junior Varsity sports. We have close to 800 students participating in our athletic program each year. Our goal is to provide each student with the necessary skills to lead healthy productive and faithful lives. We strive to educate our students through a multifaceted approach that emphasizes academics but incorporates a number of extracurricular opportunities that cater to students’ individual interests and skill levels. We feel that it is important to provide a well-rounded educational experience for our student-athletes that will produce leaders and role models within our school community and beyond. We strongly believe that such lessons are fundamental to building athletic ability as well as character.

Our Principal, Administrators, Faculty and Staff are committed to get the most out of our STUDENT-athletes. I work with a winning team in the athletics department, from the office to the field. We have passionate coaches who care and have the expertise to coach. Our coaches, athletic department staff members, and I are always happy to talk with you about our programs and answer any questions you may have. Please don’t hesitate to contact myself and coaches.

We invite students and parents alike to become active participants in the Cary Athletic Program.  For information regarding eligibility, schedules, coaching opportunities and more please feel free to check out our website goimps.com and/or reach out to me with any questions that you may have.

Go Imps!

Ryan Rodgers Athletic Director

“The” Cary High School

Jeremy H. Barefoot Assistant Principal of Athletics

• 7 years at Cary HS

• 21 years in education (10 as a teacher/head wrestling coach at Sanderson High School where we were 5X team conference champions and regional runner-up; numerous individual state placers and two state finalists)

• Serves as co-advisor to the Cary High Athletic Advisory Council

• Participated in Club Wrestling and multiple Intramural sports (volleyball, swimming, soccer, softball, flag football) at NC State University

• Was on the Wrestling team at Cardinal Gibbons HS (the team won the state championship in 1999)

• 3X Cap VIII Conference Wrestling Coach of the Year, Sanderson High School

• Cary native

DATE EVENT

Sep 9 RSG

Sep 16 Knightdale

Sep 30 Langley

Oct 21 RSG

Oct 28 RSG

SCHEDULE SUBJECT TO CHANGE. FOR UPDATES VISIT GOIMPS.COM

@cary_gymnastics

Kathryn Buckley-Bledsoe grew up as a gymnast right in Cary competing through USAG Level 7. In middle school, she picked up soccer and played at Mississippi State University as a goalie. After moving all over the US from the Outer Banks to Tennessee, Utah, and Hawaii, she made her way back to North Carolina. She served as a youth minister and teacher for 10 years and now her life has come full circle back to gymnastics. She is currently the head coach of the girls team at Triumph Gymnastics with AAU, Xcel, and Development Program gymnasts. Her favorite events are beam and vault but loves all of them.

Kathryn is currently in graduate school persuing a dual Master’s in Divinity and Clinical Mental Health Counseling. In her spare time, she spends time with her husband, four rescue dogs, coaches CrossFit, and sews.

ALL PROCEEDS FROM OUR FUNDRAISER GO DIRECTLY TO THE GYMNASTICS TEAM TO HELP COVER TEAM COSTS AND EXPENSES FOR THE UPCOMING SEASON

SUPPORT OUR TEAM

Emma Louise Elkan SR

Heaven McCullers JR

Alia Schaefer

Jolicia Silverio JR

Zoe Williams

SR

Sports Medicine Staff

Head Athletic Trainer Eric Hall

First Responder Rachel Garinger

Orthopedic Dr. Doug Martini

Team MD Dr. Jennifer Stromberg

PA Kevin Morrison

@CarySportsMed

Eric Hall

• Certified Athletic Trainer (ATC), Licensed Athletic Trainer (LAT)

• 24th year as an Athletic Trainer, 18th year as Head Athletic Trainer at Cary HS

• Head Athletic Trainer at Southeast Raleigh for 6 years

• NCATA 4 time Life Saver Award Recipient

• Awarded and recognized for helping save the life of Robert Gresham Sr, a grandfather attending his granddaughter’s cheer competition.

• 2022 NCADA Athletic Trainer of The Year

• 2016 CHS Hall of Fame Member

• 2013 NCATA Athletic Trainer of the Year

• 2012 NC Shrine Bowl trainer

• American Red Cross CPR & AED Instructor

• Graduated from East CarolinaMAEd Athletic Administration & BS in Exercises & Sports Science.

• Cary High School graduate, Class or 1993. Participated in track and field, swimming and cross country and was a student athletic trainer during football season

FROM THE PRESIDENT

Tradition runs high at CHS and we are proud of our school and its athletic program. Most fans don’t realize all of the work that goes into running an athletics program. The school receives less than $1,000 each year to fund the whole athletics program (not per sport!). As you can imagine, this doesn’t even scratch the surface for what is needed to operate.

The Imp Club, Cary High’s sports booster club, steps in to help the school and Athletic Director with needs for our sports program. We raise money by attracting outside sponsors, developing fundraisers, and selling concessions, spirit wear, memberships, and All-Sports passes. Our funds go to support all of our teams. We also manage the bank accounts for each of the individual teams. This all requires a lot of work.

We are so thankful to have some amazing volunteers on the Imp Club board but we can always use more. Our monthly meetings are light-hearted and fun. We meet at Bond Brothers on the second Sunday of each month at 7pm (unless there is a holiday or conflict). We would love for you to come join us and share your ideas on how to make the sports program better. Both men and women participate on our board and you will make some fast friends.

Above all, we are trying to make our students have the very best four years at Cary High. It is hard to compete with the facilities that all of these brand-new schools around us get from Day 1 but they don’t have the heart and tradition that Cary High has. As an alumni of Cary High myself, they won’t remember the facilities - just the amazing times that they had with their friends as an athlete or having fun with their friends in the stands.

Cindy Hunt, Imp Club President

The Cary IMP Club, Inc. is a volunteer organization committed to providing student-athletes at Cary High School with the very best facilities, equipment, protection and opportunities. The IMP Club is comprised of CHS parents, teachers, students, and community business. These supporters together raise money each year to support 37 CHS Varsity and Junior Varsity teams and athletes representing 24 sports.

JOIN THE IMP CLUB

$15 Student Membership (Cary High Students only, includes a Gang Green t shirt)

$15 Basic Membership

$50 Goal Membership (Basic Imp Club membership + Car Magnet)

$100 Slam Dunk Membership (Goal membership + Hat)

$250 Home Run Membership (Slam Dunk membership + Sweatshirt)

$500 Touchdown Membership (Home run membership + Golf Shirt and VIP parking for home football games)

All members receive a discount off of Spirit Wear purchases.

Go Imps!

BEST MASCOT IN THE COUNTRY

The Cary High School Imp mascot has been named the 2023 Best Mascot in the Country! The Cary Imps received the top vote over the Rhinelander Hodags from Wisconsin 62,821 to 39,768.

Mascots from 66 high schools across the nation competed in SBLive Sports’ 2-month NCAA-styled bracketed tournament.

Since 1935, the Imp mascot has represented Cary High School. The graphic version of the Imp was designed in the 1960’s by Cary student Lee Mauney, who became the school’s art teacher and would later serve as athletic director. In February 2023, the mascot received a name, Guy the Imp, after Guy Mendenhall, studentathlete, coach, charter member of the Cary High School Sports Hall of Fame and the North Carolina Athletic Director’s Hall of Fame.

The Imp has been previously recognized by Sports Illustrated on it’s Most Unique High School Nickname list and by ESPN as one of the nation’s best nicknames.

Founded in 1896, Cary High also holds the honor of becoming the first public high school in North Carolina in 1907.

AN EASY WAY TO SUPPORT CHS ATHLETICS

LINK YOUR HARRIS TEETER VIC CARD

Link your VIC card and a percentage of your grocery purchases are donated to our club. Any customer with a VIC card can link their card. The more people that connect, the higher the earning potential for the Imp Club. Link online, at your Harris Teeter checkout or we can link for you.

All athlete photographs courtesy Jessica Wolfram Photography

Media Guide produced by Susan Martin Madcap Hijinks Design