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Mountain Lions Add
Lacrosse and Competitive Cheerleading
Roundup
Young Harris College is currently
recruiting for its inaugural men’s and
women’s lacrosse teams and its first-ever
competitive cheerleading squad, both set
to premiere in 2012-2013.
“As we continue our four-year
transformation at Young Harris College,
we are pleased to expand our athletics
offerings,” YHC President Cathy Cox
said.
In February, Chase Carter joined the
Department of Athletics as competitive
cheerleading head
coach and is charged
with starting YHC’s
intercollegiate coed
competitive
cheerleading program
that will begin this fall.
He joins the Mountain
Lions from Shorter
Chase Carter
University, where he
spent the past two
seasons as an assistant
coach and led the Cheer Hawks to
a runner-up finish at the 2011 NCA
National Championship by a narrow .04
margin. Previously, he cheered for five
years at North Carolina State University,
once placing second in the Division I-A
Large Coed division at NCA Nationals
while also placing third twice and fourth
twice.
“Competitive cheerleading will
provide an opportunity to promote
our college to broader audiences in
new venues and will create a more
enthusiastic and spirited collegiate
environment,” Director of Athletics
Randy Dunn explained. “Chase has the
knowledge, experience and passion to
build a first-class program that will give
our current students and prospective
student-athletes the opportunity to
compete at the collegiate level against
other top colleges and universities
around the country.”
The men’s and women’s lacrosse
programs will begin play in the spring of
2013.
Kirk Rogers was hired in January
as men’s lacrosse head coach. He also
comes to Young Harris from Shorter
University, where he spent the past
two seasons as an assistant coach for
the Hawks’ men’s lacrosse program. He
played collegiately at NCAA Division
II Lees-McRae College, where he led
the program to its first-ever postseason
victory and only appearance in the final
four of its conference tournament. Prior
to coaching at Shorter, Rogers spent a
year in the United Kingdom serving as a
local development officer for the English
Lacrosse Association and head coach at
the University of Bath.
“Kirk’s enthusiasm for the sport and
commitment to develop a total studentathlete
will be a perfect fit for YHC,” said
Dunn.
In May, Katie Ilott was selected to
join Young Harris College as women’s
lacrosse head coach after working as
an assistant coach with the Mercyhurst
University women’s lacrosse program
for the past two years, where she saw
the Lakers advance to their first-ever
appearance in the Pennsylvania State
Athletic Conference title match this past
season. Prior to Mercyhurst, she played
four years of lacrosse with Limestone
College, where she helped the Saints
to four straight Conference Carolinas’
regular-season championships, three
consecutive tournament championships
and three NCAA Division II tournament
berths. She was named to the allconference
first team three times and
was tabbed as an all-region honoree
and a first-team All-American.
“Katie has a tremendous passion
and commitment to building a firstclass
program, and her ability to
recruit quality student-athletes will
be of tremendous benefit as she grows
the program at YHC,” Dunn said.
According to the latest
participation survey by
U.S. Lacrosse, the sport’s
governing body, the number
of NCAA lacrosse programs
grew from 428 to 608 from
2000 to 2010, and the
growth shows few signs of
slowing. In 2011, 38 new
varsity programs began play,
and another 26 are set to Kirk Rogers
come on board in 2012.
Data from the National
Federation of State High
School Associations shows
that lacrosse has the fastest
percentage growth rates in
the last five years in both
boys’ and girls’ sports.
Georgia, which currently
has 75 high schools that
Katie Ilott
have lacrosse teams, is one
of 21 states with governing
associations that sanction/recognize high
school lacrosse.
“Lacrosse has been the fastest growing
sport in the U.S. for the past five years,”
Dunn explained, “and YHC wants to
be a leader in providing academic and
athletic opportunities for studentathletes
that want to compete at the
collegiate level.”
» Visit yhcathletics.com for more
information about both of these
new athletic programs.
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