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A FULL CONTACT SPORT Duane Meilstrup of Brookhaven’s Mississippi Gym of Dreams is making an impact By DAVID CULPEPPER Special to Mississippi Sports Magazine
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s it is for most every person, there are defining moments and crossroads that determine who we are. The year was 1991 for Duane Meilstrup, a promising prep star from Meridian High School, with dreams of playing football for Mississippi College (MC) in Clinton, MS, made his way to campus. “Back in the day”, MC was a Division II powerhouse and was respected nationally for their athletics. The only bump in the road was that no scholarship was offered to play football. Meilstrup’s journey was about to come to a fork in the road and take a route that no one would expect, especially not Meilstrup. One day while on campus the sponsor for the JV cheer squad watched in the distance as the talented young athlete showed off his flipping and stunting ability with friends. Talk about a change in mind set and approach! Meilstrup, who once wanted to prowl the gridiron for the Choc’s was suddenly being offered a scholarship to cheer. A promising gridiron star? CHEER? In case you have not paid much attention to collegiate athletics over the past couple of decades, cheer has become a sport that has become a very competitive and nationally recognized activity, one that Meilstrup describes as “FULL CONTACT”. Cheer requires conditioning, balance and stamina. Meilstrup vividly remembers waking up with bruises and soreness as if he had just played a football game the night before due to being hit with elbows and knees while practicing routines. Broken noses, black eyes and broken bones are not uncommon to cheer. The fast track to his newfound success was closer than Meilstrup realized and would later determine his career. By January of ’92 the recently converted cheerleader was moved to the varsity squad with a national competition approaching in April. His taste of success came early as MC placed second only to Delta State in the competition. Meil48 - Mississippi Sports Magazine