Jeannie Stone is now in her sixth season as the head coach of the UPIKE cheerleading program.
It took little time for Stone to turn UPIKE into a powerhouse in the Mid-South Conference, capturing three conference titles in her first four seasons, starting in 2013. In all three of those championship seasons, Stone was named the MSC Coach of the Year.
Through five seasons with UPIKE, Stone has coached two MSC Cheerleaders of the Year in Jaimie Ward in 2013 and Jerrica Lambert in 2014, 16 All-MSC selections, 32 Academic All-MSC performers and the program’s first three NAIA Scholar-Athletes.
In 2014, Stone led the Bears to new heights by qualifying for their first appearance at the National Cheer Association Collegiate National Championships where they took second place in the NAIA Small Coed Challenger’s Cup.
Prior to taking over for the Bears, Stone spent 36 years as the coach of the Pikeville High School cheer team where she won eight KAPOS State Championships, including at least one in each of the last five decades.
Stone has also won 12 Class A state titles, 23 regional championships and finished as the regional runner-up eight times. She was the KAPOS Coach of the Year in 1981 and the 2000 NFHC Section 2 Coach of the Year. She has been a member of the KAPOS board since 1984.
A former cheerleader at then-Pikeville College, Stone was on the first squad to win the KIAC Cheer Championship.