Player: Maegan Campbell
Year: Sophomore
School: University of Oregon
Sport: Acrobatics & Tumbling
Hometown: Camano Island (Stanwood High School)
What she did: Helped the Ducks edge Maryland by less than two-tenths of a poin
t in the National Collegiate Acrobatics and Tumbling Association Team Championships on Saturday.
What’s next: The sophomore English major is finished for the season but has two more years of eligibility.
The two-minute drill
So now that you’re a national champion, is there any particular way we’re supposed to address you?
No, it’s just the same. It’s kind of surreal, though. But no, nothing different.
It must feel pretty good, though, to win a national championship?
That’s been our goal the whole year, what we’ve been working toward. It’s a great feeling to know you’ve finally accomplished the goal you had all year.
You know, when wrestlers win state titles, they often do back flips. So what does an acrobat do after winning a national title?
We’ve got some hops; we can jump high. So we were just jumping around a lot.
I have to ask the obvious question. So what exactly is acrobatics and tumbling?
Acrobatics and tumbling is kind of a mix between gymnastics, acrobatics and stunt. It comes from competitive cheer, only the format is completely different. There are four to five events at each meet, so everyone gets showcased. It’s very athletic and very team-oriented.
What are the events?
There’s tumbling, pyramid, compulsory, stunt, basket, and then the team routine. So there are six.
And what’s your specialty?
I come from a completely gymnastics background – I did it up until my senior year at Stanwood – so I specialize in tumbling. I competed in tumbling and pyramid.
Seeing that you’re a gymnast, I assume you were on top off the pyramid?
Actually, I was a base.
So how did you get into it?
I had looked into gymnastics at other schools, but I wasn’t entirely sure. A friend told me about the program, and it sounded interesting, so I sent in an application on a whim. Coach (Felecia) Mulkey called me, and she totally won me over. There’s more of a team aspect to it, and I wasn’t used to that, being a gymnast. So I liked that part of it. I kind of took a risk coming here, but it’s definitely paid off.
So if I was, say, a 13- or 14-year-old gymnast weighing my future options, what would you say to sell me on your sport?
The great thing about this sport is the mindset is completely different. It’s very team-oriented. It’s very competitive. It doesn’t matter your size or weight because there are different positions for every person. And you can be an individual through all the events.
And since you compete at Oregon, I have to ask: how many different uniforms do you guys have?
(Laughs) We have four.
That’s not nearly as many as the Oregon football team.
No, not as many as the football team. But we’re very lucky to have support from Nike.
Well, they were the national runners-up, and you’re the national champions, so do you think next season you’ll have more uniforms than the football team?
I don’t think so. We’ll just stick with what we’ve got.
So you’re majoring in English, but I’m guessing by your sport that you have a more exciting career plan in mind – maybe as a stuntwoman?
I don’t really know at this point. I have no idea what I want to do.
Maybe you’ll get into something you haven’t heard of yet, like you did with acrobatics and tumbling?
Yeah, maybe. (Laughs)
Scott M. Johnson, Herald writer
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