Emily Stephens

An early pre-event start and a power outage sent a frenzied crowd of over 7,000 students into an even higher energy level of dancing, clapping, singing and cheering at Thursday night’s Lope-A-Palooza at GCU Arena. The Thundering Heard Band, Cheer team, Dance team, Thunder and the Havocs leaders put on an unforgettable show to kick off the academic school year and pump up new and returning members of the Havocs to support athletics, including the men’s and women’s soccer teams who made an appearance prior to their home opening matches tonight.

  By Theresa Smith GCU News Bureau Just for a moment, forget about winning the top award in every category and focus on the outcome that does not appear in the official results. After days of driving the Grand Canyon University Cheer team, consecutive mornings of listening to their daily devotionals, witnessing their approach to each other, and their evident love amid catching each other with sure hands and an authentic smile, the bus driver was profoundly affected. GCU Cheer coach Emily Stephens, who began the program 11 years ago, was brought to tears when Dean, the bus driver, took her aside and told her that he was thinking about returning to church, and the deciding factor was his observations of her 49-member cheer team, plus Thunder and Thunder’s friends. “It was the most exciting thing for us,’’ she said upon returning from the Universal Cheerleading Association (UCA) camp at the University of California-Santa Barbara. “He said he felt a spirit coming up from the front of the bus. The fact that the group could show him that love and that spirit and represent Christ is remarkable. For him to feel that and make that decision after being with our […]

Grand Canyon University Dance team coach Jacque Genung-Koch is the driving force behind the phenomenal success of the program, which integrates with the Cheer team, Thunder, the Havocs and the band for a highly charged atmosphere at athletic contests and campus and community events. She says there’s more anticipation than ever for this year.