NEWBERG, Ore. -- It only took two years for the George Fox STUNT team to reach the mountaintop.
 

Now, year three awaits.
 

After a first season in which the Bruins finished third in the nation, Fox was labeled a "team to watch" in 2025. They indeed were a team to watch — the rest of Division III watched GFU win the national championship, taking down Muskingum, 9-7, to capture the school's fifth tile since 2000. But even though the team is on the heels of a championship, program director Reba McLennan isn't resting on her laurels.
 

"The goal for us is still the same: make it to nationals and be in the final game at the championship." McLennan said, "We're really just trying to stay on that same kind of mental path."
 

The Bruins begin the year as the number one-ranked team in Division III — a division that has expanded to 16 teams for 2025 — and return several All-Americans to their roster. While Morgan Lewis and Tori Ward depart, and Jasmine Dalton moves to a team manager role, Luka Ogden, Marlee Rae, Emma Reinke, and Corinne Romo return. In addition, 2025 CSCA Jumps & Tumbling Specialist of the Year Christina Converse also comes back for her sophomore season.
 

But it's not just the award winners that excite McLennan. The GFU squad is bolstered by a team of seniors who have given their all to the program — and have the results to look back on. But more than that, they are just plain fun. 

"I love the senior class." McLennan said, "They're the ones that helped kickstart the program. They're also the first class that I recruited. I am going to be really sad when they're not on the team because they are just fun. They have the experience, they're leaders on the team, and people look up to them."

Fox has seven seniors on the roster for 2025: Reinke, Makaylee Kuiken, Kennidy Outlaw, Kayla Hernandez, and Flor Sanchez. And each of these seniors, from All-Americans to key bases and tumblers, has impacted the program in their own way and helped lead a group full of eager, young freshmen and transfers.

"We do bigs and littles," McLennan said, " the returners have a new girl on the team as a 'little'. It's a kind of mentorship, and the 'bigs' are somebody that the newcomers can ask questions to. We try very hard to make [the team] feel like one big family and not  a group of returners and rookies."

Over half of Fox's 2025 squad are new to the program, and several are pivoting to the sport of STUNT. And though they may be new to Newberg, several are already looking to make an impact. From Delaney Fuller, who the coaches have affectionately dubbed "Marlee Junior", to tumbler Katey Bailey, to freshman Averie Potts, and a host of the 16 freshmen, there could be several new faces participating come game time.

And that time may come quickly. Fox begins the season with a trip to Arizona for the Arizona State Tournament — the same tournament where they competed in their first-ever game — and face some of the top teams in Division I and club. But while the Bruins have never shied away from competition (being the westernmost D-III school to sponsor STUNT by a wide margin makes Fox often play teams outside of their division), Fox will compete in three games in a day in one tournament and play in six games in three days in another. McLennan sees these games as a chance to showcase the team's depth.

"It gives the girls more opportunities to play," McLennan said, "We wouldn't have the same three groups for Partner Stunt One in all three games. It truly will be diversified, which will be nice. The more that the girls can play, I think the better that they can learn in areas to grow."

While the Bruin coaching staff, led by McLennan and head coach Beth Sanchez, does love testing their talent with games against perennial number ones Cal Baptist and Hope International, the 2026 season will see a new scheduling wrinkle: more games against D-III teams.

In 2024, Fox did not play a Division III team before the STUNT Championships; in 2025, they faced just two. But in 2026, the Bruins will travel to Indiana for the Saint Mary's tournament, where they will face four teams in their division — something that McLennan is extremely excited about.

There still will be many challenges for the Bruins to face along the road through Arizona, Indiana, and Newberg. The teams have five new routines to learn, including Routines 1-3. Rules have been changed; now, teams cannot self-forfeit multiple times in a half.

Rule changes are to be expected in a fledgling sport that is one of the fastest-growing in America. And with the NCAA ruling that STUNT has moved past its initial emerging status and will begin hosting NCAA Championships in 2027, it's clear that this sport is here to stay. 

And George Fox STUNT is ready for year three of their journey.