Volume 130, Issue 2: September 30, 2021

the

Tiger Tunes Edition

VOLUME 130, ISSUE 2

SIGNAL

SEPTEMBER 30, 2021

A P U B L I C AT I O N O F O U A C H I TA B A P T I S T U N I V E R S I T Y

CONTENTS PAGE 2 | WWW.OBUSIGNAL.COM

COVER STORY.............................3 NEWS......................................4-5 ARTS/ENTERTAINMENT...............6 OPINIONS................................... 7 SPORTS......................................8 SCAN FOR AN ONLINE EDITION CONNECT WITH THE SIGNAL

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Ouachita Baptist University Office: Evans Student Center Email: signal@obu.edu Phone: (870) 245-5210 The Signal is the student newspaper of Ouachita Baptist University, and is published twice a month on Thursdays during the fall and spring semesters when school is in session. The newspaper is distributed free of charge; 1,200 copies are placed in more than 20 locations across campus.

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COVER STORY WWW.OBUSIGNAL.COM | PAGE 3

Dreams become reality for hosts, hostesses

BY CAROLINE DERBY Staff Writer

Although several of this year’s Tiger Tunes hosts and hostesses had no idea about the impact of Tiger Tunes when they first saw it, they certainly do now. It took people from their hometowns, their churches, Ouachita alumni, and others congratulating them on the accomplishment for them to realize how big this role is in Ouachita culture.

The hosts and hostesses get to carry on a legacy that started before they were born and during a time when some did not even know if Tunes would be possible. After hundreds of hours of rehearsals, they are ready to hit the stage in the 43rd annual Tiger Tunes show.

This year’s hosts and hostesses are Meredith Medford, Landon Denman, Sara Kate Cole, Able Kusaloka, Payton Mixon, Brennon Humphry, Chaney Campbell and Sammy Campione. All with the exception of Denman will be performing as a host or hostess in their first Tiger Tunes show ever.

For all of them, this role is a dream come true.

Tiger Tunes not only gives students a chance to dress up in costumes, cheer until their voices give out and practice for hours upon hours, it also raises money for student scholarships through the Ouachita Student Foundation.

For Kusaloka, that is the most important thing about Tunes.

“I think the biggest thing for me is realizing that I am raising money for my friends to get scholarship money, and that some of them would never be able to attend school here without it,” Kusaloka said.

Tiger Tunes helps contribute to the over $100,000 in scholarships raised each year. For Kusaloka, a member of OSF, seeing the behindthe-scenes work that goes into

This year’s Tiger Tunes hosts and hostesses (left to right) are: Landon Denman, Payton Mixon, Chaney Campbell, Able Kusaloka, Sara Kate Cole, Brennon Humphry, Meredith Medford and Sammy Campione. For each of them, hosting Tiger Tunes embodies a dream fulfilled. (photos courtesty of Tyler Rosenthal)

Tunes as a whole drove him to want to help in the capacity of a host this year.

Medford’s dream was sparked by watching the hosts and hostesses of a previous Tunes show.

“I went and saw Tunes on a whim. It was my first year ever being on campus or literally hearing about Tunes. I watched and thought, ‘I want to be one of them very, very badly,’” Medford said.

For Campione, the experience was similar.

“I saw Clay Mobley come out on stage my freshman year, and I said, ‘I want to do that,’ Campione said.

It was the legacy of Tiger Tunes that drove each performer’s dream of being in this special group of eight.

“My family and I came to watch my sister in her first Tunes show, and they were all talking about how great the shows themselves were, but I really liked the hosts, and that’s when I decided if I

came here, I wanted to do that,” Humphry said.

For Denman, the experience of being a host is familiar. He was a host during the Tiger Tunes Rewind performance in 2020.

Last year, the hosts and hostesses were masked and socially distant throughout rehearsals. This year, they still follow some COVID guidelines but have more freedom within the rehearsals themselves.

Tunes Rewind was a success, but Denman is happier than ever to be in Jones Performing Arts Center, in front of a live audience and living out the dream of being a host in Tiger Tunes.

“We were given a situation where we could look at it from all of the wrong angles, but we chose each individually to select looking at it from a positive outlook,” Denman said.

Although COVID has made changes to Tiger Tunes, this group of performers consider it an honor

to be the group that welcomes audiences back. Junior Chaney Campbell is excited to experience this new chapter with the Ouachita community.

“Coming back after freshman year from being sent home for the end of spring semester was like a book had closed and we didn’t get to finish it. Now, being back in this atmosphere, it feels like the lights have been turned back on and the book has opened again. It has made it a really sweet experience.

Welcoming back everybody is bigger than we all think it to be, or know it to be. It is going to be a really cool experience,” Campbell said.

There have been 42 groups of hosts and hostesses before this one.

For Sara Kate Cole, that legacy includes someone close to her.

“I grew up knowing a little bit about Tunes because my mom was a hostess. She never told me too much about it, but when I was

here as a freshman, that’s when I realized that it was something that I wanted to be a part of,” Cole said.

Cole, a dance captain for the group, realized the impact Tunes has on the local community through teaching at the local dance studio.

“The girls just go crazy about Tunes, and it made me realize the effect it has on everyone,” Cole said.

Mixon has also found the impact of Tunes to be remarkable, especially considering the small student population at Ouachita.

“It’s crazy how small Ouachita is, but amazing how big the reach is, especially with Tunes. The lasting impact it has on students is amazing,” Mixon said.

The hosts and hostesses cannot wait for the lights to come on, for the music to start and for the show to begin. To watch the Saturday 8:30 show live online, go to www. obusignal.com/tunes.

NEWS

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Dr. Jeremy Greer stands outside Berry-Peeples Bible Building, home of the Pruet School of Christian Studies. Greer began his new position as dean of the school this semester. (photo by Levi Dade)

Dr. Kevin Motl stands in front of the Tiger statue. Motl began his new role within the Sutton School of Social Sciences as interim dean in September. (photo by Coleman Callan)

Greer, Motl start new roles as deans of schools

BY MACKENZIE HALL

News Editor This academic year brings new leadership to the Pruet School of Christian Studies and Sutton School of Social Sciences. Both schools welcomed new deans, Dr. Jeremy Greer, dean for Christian Studies, and Dr. Kevin Motl, interim dean for Social Sciences.

As Ouachita settles into another year, the deans have been adapting to their new roles leading faculty and students.

Both Greer and Motl are no strangers to Ouachita. Greer graduated from OBU in 1998 and returned to teach in 2007 as an ad-

junct and visiting professor. Motl, although a Texas A&M Aggie, has been a history professor at Ouachita for 15 years. Serving as a dean is new for both professors, and they are thankful for the opportunities that come with the job.

“People are just fantastic,” Greer said. “Everyone is very supportive, encouraging, eager to help in whatever way possible. It’s the most supportive environment. As for the work, it has been a challenge, but it has been a great deal of fun.

It’s something new all the time, stretching experiences and opportunities to learn and grow.”

Motl views his responsibilities as a way to better the university

and cast vision for the future.

“The thing I am excited about the most is the way I get to work with people at Ouachita in different ways,” Motl said. “The capacity to be able to work with the Dean’s Council to develop coherent and effective strategic vision for the future of the institution, solve problems and make Ouachita better for all involved.”

Deans are able to greatly influence students as they encourage and guide them during their time at Ouachita. For Greer, he hopes to influence student transformation.

“The Lord is in the transformation business, and he chooses to let us be agents in that process. I hope

to sustain a culture in our school in which the Lord is working to transform students to be and do what He desires them to be and do,” Greer said.

Motl wishes to look for ways to develop programs for students as the school responds to the everchanging higher education business.

“I want the Sutton School to be hungry looking for ways to develop programs, graduate or undergraduate, and modify existing programs for students,” Motl said. “Our goal is the same as the university, we want to increase the quality of education and prepare our students for the real world.”

As the deans continue to manage their new responsibilities and learn along the way, they are surrounded by support and honored to represent Ouachita within their schools.

“The workload has been intense, and the learning curve steep, of course, but the support I have received thus far has made me feel capable of anything,” Greer said.

“I am really honored to have this opportunity. I am following in the path of iconic faculty to work on this campus. It’s a high honor to me to even sit in the same space they occupied, and to have a hand in the future of Sutton, the faculty and students,” Motl said. “I feel really blessed by it.”

NEWS

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Homecoming to celebrate Tigers

BY EMILEE WEBB Staff Writer

The Women of Gamma Phi stand on the steps of Cone-Bottoms. The social club will participate in Tiger Tunes for the first time since 1999. (photo by Levi Dade)

Gamma Phi flies back to Tiger Tunes after 22 years

BY MALLORY GATSON

Staff Writer Gamma Phi was founded in a Cone-Bottoms dorm room in 1944 and has a strong heritage of supporting campus life at Ouachita.

Gamma Phi went inactive as a club in 2000, but in 2019, the social club resumed active status and has been the buzz around campus ever since.

The last Tiger Tunes show that Gamma Phi participated in was the 1999 production of “Inspector Gamma P.H.I.” Gamma Phi will perform in this year’s Tunes show as “Gamma’s Angels,” a spin-off of “Charlie’s Angels.” Hannah Herrington, Piper Fain and Natalie Moore are directing this year’s show. The show will feature 38 girls and eight beaus.

Herrington is proud to be directing and leading Gamma’s show, a dream of hers since her sophomore year of high school.

“Setting the pace for shows to come is a big motivator,” Herrington said. “Sophomore year of high school I came to Grow weekend, and I said I was going to be a tunes director, and five years later that is happening for me.”

Tiger Tunes has been a standout tradition at Ouachita for decades, though the caliber of the show is higher now than in the past.

“It has been 40 years since I participated in Tiger Tunes as a mem-

ber of Gamma Phi Women’s Social Club,” alumni Selena Kesner Bartmier said. “In the fall of 1981, the Gammas performed our interpretation of the Beach Boys music with our beach theme, ‘Surfer Girl.’ The shows were much simpler, but we still had fun doing them.”

Bartmier cherishes events like Tiger Tunes for the lasting relationships she formed with her sisters.

“Time spent in rehearsals as well as other club activities was a valuable tool for building friendships that remain today,” Bartmier said.

“I am so thankful for Tunes because we are getting the opportunity to bond heavily with the newest pledge class,” current Gamma Phi president Kayla Whittington said.

“With COVID-19 attacking so heavily, the girls were deprived of getting to do a lot of things. It has been nice witnessing the progression that has been made from when we first started.”

Gamma Phi alumni look forward to the club’s return to the stage, and Whittington feels encouraged by that support.

“The alumni have been so supportive,” Whittington said. “It is very encouraging to know that sisterhood is not given, it is created, and Gamma Phi honors that. The Gamma Phi alumni are so excited to cheer on our campus sisters, and we could not be prouder of our Gamma Angels.”

One of Ouachita’s most exciting weekends is quickly approaching.

Campus will be filled with alumni, prospective students, parents and current students eager for the celebration. Homecoming will be held Saturday, Oct. 2 at Cliff Harris Stadium, and the festivities will extend through the weekend. From alumni teas, to the Purple Plaza Party in Tiger Alley, to Tiger Tunes, there will be something for all Ouachita fans to enjoy.

The annual Purple Plaza Party will be held from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 1. The fun will start on the campus lawn and in Tiger Alley. All of the clubs and organizations on campus will have tables set up with games, food and prizes. There will also be a pep-rally and live music to get fans excited to cheer on the Tigers. The Homecoming nominees and their escorts, upperclassmen football players, will be presented as well.

On Friday night, there will be two Tiger Tunes performances in Jones Performing Arts Center. Because the shows have limited seating capacity as a precaution against COVID, there was an extra performance added to Friday night’s schedule. The shows will be held at 5 p.m. and 8:30 p.m for both the Friday and Saturday night shows.

On Saturday, Oct. 2, every Ouachitonian will have a chance to show their Tiger spirit at some point in the day. The morning will begin with Tiger Fest on Cone-Bottoms Lawn from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.

Soical clubs will host events for their alumni and current members.

Tailgating will begin at 10:30 a.m. at Cliff Harris Stadium, directly followed by the presentation of Homecoming queen nominees at 11:30 a.m.

The Homecoming court consistening of 20 female students will fill the field and the 2021 Home-

Top Left: Members of Beta Beta play corn hole at the 2019 Purple Plaza Party. (photo

by Abby Blankenship) Top Right: Football players huddle at the 2019 Homecoming game. Bottom: Betsey Patterson is crowned 2019 Homecoming queen. (photo by Justin Trostle)

coming queen will be crowned.

The main event, Tiger football, will begin at noon against Northwestern Oklahoma State. Alumni, students and families will flood the stands with purple, gold and white as they cheer the tigers to victory.

After the game, Friday’s Purple Plaza Party continues onto day two. All of the clubs and organizations will once again set up tables and line Tiger Alley. The atmosphere will be high-energy as Ouachitonians of all ages gather.

Later that night, there will be two more chances to catch the Tiger Tunes shows. All of the clubs and organizations will perform their shows, and the hosts and hostesses will perform their set, for the

last time this year. The winner and runners-up of Tiger Tunes will be announced at the end of the final show on Saturday.

“It’s amazing that we get to experience Homecoming weekend somewhat normal this year and have all these familiar faces come back to campus that haven’t been here in over 700 days,” Student Body President Madison McGhee said.

Homecoming weekend will not only commemorate another year at Ouachita, it will also a celebrate the community being able to come back together. After an uncertain year, an event that brings alumni and students back together will lift the spirits of all participants.

ARTS/ENTERTAINMENT PAGE 6 | WWW.OBUSIGNAL.COM

Unsung hero produces high quality shows

BY JULIA SHANDS

lights over the course of those two days.”

Nick Smith may not be the star of the show in any play or performance, but he does play a vital role in making any production that steps out onto Jones Performing Arts Center’s stage a success.

Serving as OBU’s Technical Director and Production Manager, Smith has sacrificed many hours to ensure that one of Ouachita’s favorite traditions, Tiger Tunes, runs smoothly as faculty, alumni and families are eager to watch students perform after a long two years.

Smith oversees every aspect of audio, lighting and stage design that goes into each event in JPAC. He has been preparing for months behind the scenes to orchestrate all of the technical components of Tiger Tunes.

“Within each of those areas there are a lot of both small and big details that must be taken into consideration and properly executed to ensure a seamless show without hiccups, while also keeping everyone happy and safe on stage,” Smith said.

While it’s entertaining for the audience, Tiger Tunes is more than just singing and dancing, it’s a culmination of the countless hours that people like Smith have put in to make Tiger Tunes happen.

“Technical planning for Tiger Tunes begins as much as six months in advance when we begin planning the stage design and lighting,” Smith said. “Aside from planning well in advance, we spend several days setting up the rental lights and programming for all of the HoHo’s performances and for each club’s show. What most people probably don’t realize is that lighting is done only two days before our first full dress rehearsal and we spend approximately 30 hours programming

“Technical planning for Tiger Tunes begins as much as six months in advance when we begin planning the stage design and lighting.”

-Nick Smith

Staff Writer

Although Tiger Tunes is a busy season for Smith, he feels as though all of his time and effort is worthwhile when students finally get to bring their shows to life.

“One thing I most look forward to is the opening night of Tunes,” Smith said. “After the long weeks of setup and late night rehearsals, the best feeling is finally getting to see all of the hard work pay off as the show is performed in front of an audience for the first time.”

Smith is instrumental to the production of Tiger Tunes, but he would not be able to pull it off without the help and dedication of many student workers.

“My role is certainly not an individual effort,” Smith said. “The stage would not be set up and the show would not run seamlessly without the hard work of my JPAC work-study crew. They, too, give up a lot of their time to spend on setup and the performances, and they play a critical part in the show.”

Smith may spend a lot of time behind the stage and in the back of the auditorium, but he certainly enjoys it when he is able to act as an audience member, observing the fruits of his and others’ efforts.

“The most enjoyable part of Tunes is the energy in the room during a live performance; watching the clubs bring a high energy and engaging the audience,” Smith said.

Smith spends hundreds of hours in Jones Performing Arts Center preparing the stage for a variety of performances. Smith plays a key role in the production of Tiger Tunes, Ouachita’s biggest performance event of the year. (photo by Brooks Bell)

OPINIONS

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Dwelling on goodness leads to life-giving attitude

BY SARA PATTERSON Editor-In-Chief

Willie Nelson once said, “When I started counting my blessings, my whole life turned around.” I recently came across this quote and resonated with it due to a new practice I started.

At the beginning of this semester, I began keeping a list of what I call “little good things” that happened throughout each day before I go to bed each night. “Little” is a relative term. The items on my list range from “I ate a bagel today” to “I called my family” to “God has shown me grace.”

I started this practice because, as I looked back on the last few years in college, I noticed that I remembered them by the bad things.

The negatives blur many of the positive memories of those years.

I then realized that I was doing a disservice not only to myself but also to the good influences in my

life by choosing not to remember them.

Philippians 4:8 tells me that I should think about what is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent and praiseworthy.

By choosing not to dwell on these kinds of things, I was also disobeying God’s word. With these realizations in mind, I decided that I wanted to remember this year differently.

Usually, I would begin a school year armed with strategies to force the year to go well: I plan to work for good grades, participate in as many fun activities as I can and form fulfilling relationships with the people around me. While these are all good things to want, they are not good things to try to control.

I know that I don’t have any more control over what will happen this year than I did any of the other years. While I cannot control every little thing that will happen this year, I can be grateful for the

little good things that do happen.

I can also rid myself of worrying whether bad things might happen by surrendering those worries to God, as 1 Peter 5:7 tells me to do.

As I reorient my mind to remember the good things rather than the bad, I hope that this presents itself in my actions and words, that they would be more life-giving because I am more full of life.

In a sermon he recently preached at First Baptist Arkadelphia, Christian Studies professor Dr. Scott Duvall taught on being a life-giver rather than a life-drainer.

Duvall gave the congregation seven action steps to be a life-giver. I thought these steps were too good not to share with all of you.

1. Realize it’s not all about you. No one is sitting around thinking about you– your needs, your mistakes or even your accomplishments. When we can realize that the world does not revolve around what we do, it takes the pressure off.

2. Stay close to Jesus, the Source of life. Spend time praying, reading the scriptures and worshipping. Not to earn God’s favor, but to help yourself remember that you already have his favor.

3. Pay attention to other people. We can learn a lot about what is going on in someone’s heart by noticing their body language, tone, facial expressions, etc. As we work to be more selfless, we can better meet people where they truly are.

4. Listen more, talk less. The ability to listen is an underrated skill in our busy culture. Take the time to digest what someone is telling you rather than pushing the conversation toward your own agenda. You might stumble upon a conversation that will bless you and the other person more than you could imagine.

5. Give encouraging words.

Whether written or spoken, tell people the good things you think about them. We can hesitate to say

these things because we fear that the compliment will make things awkward, but the truth is that we all run off of the encouragement of other people to some degree.

Especially in this transitional season of life marked by uncertainty, affirming someone’s skill set, personality or giftings can have a big impact.

6. Lighten up. Duvall said that the most spiritually healthy people have a sense of humor, so make people laugh. We could all use more of that.

7. Ask God to make you aware of opportunities for Him to work through you. Believe that God wants to work through you and let him do it.

As we go through Tunes season and beyond, there will be challenges. I hope that we will not just persevere through this semester but that we will thrive by reflecting on the goodness in our own lives and treating others to that goodness in return.

‘Dear Evan Hansen’: strong message, weak plot

BY WYATT ASHLOCK

Arts/Entertainment & Opinions Editor Coming out at the end of September, which is suicide awarness month, “Dear Evan Hansen” tries to bring attention to anxiety, depression and suicide, but is overshadowed by a train wreck of a plot.

Evan Hansen (Ben Platt) is a senior in high school with severe anxiety and depression who has to write letters to himself as an assignment for his therapist. When Connor Murphy (Colton Ryan) takes the letter and later takes his own life, his parents will go to Evan for answers, but with none to give, Evan finds himself in a lie

that spirals out of control.

“Dear Evan Hansen” has some issues in the Broadway production and the film emphasized the wrong parts of the musical in the adaptation.

The plot of this movie is hard to watch, not because of the hard topics, but because of the horrible writing. The movie excuses all of Evan’s lies and wrongdoings, claiming his anxiety made him do it. While his anxiety does play a part in this, Evan does not try to undo his lies until he is caught.

The writing is not completely awful however as the movie gives representation to those who suffer from depression but hide it from the world, building a wall around their emotions. One of the new songs in the movie called

“The Anonymous Ones,” written

by Benji Pasek and Justin Paul, is a powerful song that gives a spotlight to those who suffer with mental health issues and have to stay silent about it.

The choreography of this film is atrocious. This is a main struggle throughout the entire movie and many times the dancing is two dimensional as if it belongs on a stage. Other times the choreography is so bad that the audience will cringe in their seats.

Platt seems to struggle to get his footing as a movie adaptation of his Broadway character. At times Platt acts as if he is still on the big stage instead of the big screen which is a completely different ballpark. Despite this, Platt does an excellent job at showing the

struggle his character is going through.

The true star of this movie is not Platt but his character’s love interest, Zoe Murphy (Kaitlyn Dever).

Dever was the biggest surprise of the movie with how her character dealt with the death of her brother who she had a strained relationship with. Dever brings Zoe to life in a way that no other character does and truly understands her internal struggles. Dever’s version of “Requiem” is very powerful.

Amy Adams as Cynthia Murphy is the other star of this movie.

Her character shows the true pain behind a grieving mother who is searching for answers which helps the audience stay grounded in this movie musical.

The cinematography is painful

to watch as the editing is all over the place and at times seems as if this movie was edited in Windows Movie Maker with some of the cuts and transitions.

This film talks about very important topics but by the end, it leaves the audience without any resources or methods to get help.

This movie could have been fantastic but falls short in almost every way. I loved seeing the musical on Broadway, but even going into the theatre with no expectations, I was disappointed at almost every corner.

The topic of mental health needs to be talked about more in society, but this film does not get to the core of mental health and does not show healthy coping mechanisms either.

Overall, I rate this movie a 2.5 out of 5 Tiger Paws.

SPORTS

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Cross country teams see growth, success

BY RYAN YORK Sports Editor

Ouachita is well known for many things: academia, alumni and athletics. But, excellence in each of these areas did not happen overnight.

This fact remains relevant for the men’s and women’s cross country teams at Ouachita. Both teams took much time and hard work to build up to what they are accomplishing this season.

Steve Guymon, head coach of the women’s cross country/track and field team was hired in the fall of 2019 to coach the women’s team. When he arrived there were only seven girls on the team, but that was all he needed.

“At the beginning it was just the girls. We grew from seven to 25 the next year and this year counting the guys we are right at 55 people,” Coach Guymon said.

“It’s been about two years’ worth of work.”

“When I first met the seven girls I told them that I hope they can look back on it (their time on the team) and be very proud of what they have done,” said Guymon.

“And I think we are headed in the right direction.”

Of that group of seven, there are only three still currently attending Ouachita. Kristen Holeyfield, Grace Loftin and Kyndal Moyer are the three remaining and the only seniors on the women’s team.

“We always had so much fun and made so many great memories, but being a smaller team there was little we could do competitively, and one of our team leaders, Jorie Beaumont, wanted more than that for us. We all did.

So, we presented this to Dr. Sells,” Loftin said. “Looking back, I had no idea that this would bring us to where we are today, but a few

Top: Jessica Jennings, Victoria Bourgeois, Kristen Holeyfield and Kyndal Moyer (left to right) warm up at the Bob Gravett Invitational hosted by Ouachita. The women’s team placed first overall. (photo by Abby Blankenship) Bottom: The men’s team starts their race at the invitational. The team placed second overall. (photo by Abby Blankenship)

weeks after that initial step we were being introduced to a new coach who had an entirely new training plan and high goals for our program.”

About a year ago Dr. Ben Sells approached Coach Guymon asking him to reestablish the men’s cross country team on campus.

“We haven’t had a men’s pro-

gram here in 21 years,” Guymon said. “We’re basically starting from scratch.”

Guymon was not alone in this endeavor, though. With the help of the team, he began recruiting students already on campus. One of those students was senior Dawson Goodwin.

“At the end of my sophomore

year Kristen Holeyfield and the cross country team started talking to me about running. I joined the team with about four other guys, we practiced that summer and the next year it was us four and two freshmen,” Goodwin said.

The men’s team continued to grow and are now starting the 2021 season with 17 members.

Because the women’s team ran in the previous seasons, they are already established in the Great American Conference.

“Last year we finished fifth, really should have been fourth (in the conference),” Guymon said.

“So that kind of hit me the wrong way.”

This season marks the men’s team’s first appearance in the GAC, so they were not ranked going into the season.

As they prepared for the season, both the women’s and men’s teams felt that they had something to prove. The women’s team wanted to prove the rankings wrong, and the men wanted to establish themselves for the first time as a force to be reckoned with.

It was during the first two invitationals of the 2021 season that the Tigers showed the GAC who they are.

In both the Bob Gravett and Harding Invitationals the girls’ team finished first overall. The men’s team finished second in both invitationals. After these invitationals, Coach Guymon looks forward to the GAC Championship.

“If we have a great day, I think top three is very possible for both teams, which would be a huge accomplishment for our program.

If it’s above that it’s even bigger,” Guymon said.

The GAC championship in October is the goal for both teams.

As Guymon compares where he started with both teams to where they all are now, he is blown away by the progress.

“Looking back when I first walked in the door to meet that first group and to see where we are now. I’m not even sure I thought we’d be at this point,” Guymon said. “I’m just really proud of the team that I have. I’ve been blessed with a good team.”