UCF Sport Club Archives | University of Central Florida News Central Florida Research, Arts, Technology, Student Life and College News, Stories and More Fri, 17 Nov 2023 20:49:02 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 /wp-content/blogs.dir/20/files/2019/05/cropped-logo-150x150.png UCF Sport Club Archives | University of Central Florida News 32 32 Knight Wins National Wrestling Championship /news/graduating-senior-wins-national-wrestling-championship/ Mon, 27 Apr 2020 21:11:14 +0000 /news/?p=108859 Psychology major Clay Perry claimed the gold medal in the 174-lb. weight class at the annual NCWA Championships.

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Clay Perry, a member of the UCF Wrestling Club, had the opportunity to do what many collegiate athletes only dream of doing: becoming a national champion. The senior from St. Cloud, Florida, claimed the gold medal in the 174-lb. weight class at the annual NCWA Championships in March.

麻豆精品 S淚f I didn 麻豆精品 S檛 win this year, none of this [hard work] was really worth it, 麻豆精品 S says Perry, who walked away from the sport at age 13 but an opportunity with UCF Sport Clubs brought him back.

The psychology major in the College of Sciences led the Knights by taking first place in his weight class. Ironically, the wrestler began his career in the hopes of improving his chances of success in another sport: football. But along the way, many wrestling experts recognized his wrestling talent.

After walking away from wrestling for three years to try other sports, Perry went to American Top Team, a martial arts and athletic training facility in Orlando for some casual fun. Perry says he missed the individuality of wrestling, unlike other sports he participated in. American Top Team owner Jayson Patino spotted Perry and told him that he could be a valuable attribute to the Wrestling Club at UCF.

麻豆精品 S淗e told me I would do very good right off the bat, 麻豆精品 S Perry says. 麻豆精品 S淔ive years later I am an undefeated national champ. 麻豆精品 S

Perry 麻豆精品 S檚 athletic success as a freshman was enough to solidify his confidence in being a leader in the Wrestling Club. He described his freshman year involvement in Sport Clubs as a turning point for his wrestling career. He thanked coaches J.D. Robbins, C.J. Cook, Jason Balma and David Setner and his many training partners throughout his collegiate career.

He also credits his competitive personality in separating himself from other athletes.

麻豆精品 S淚 love winning so much, 麻豆精品 S he says, 麻豆精品 S渂ut the biggest thing is that I hate losing so much. 麻豆精品 S

Perry hopes to continue to be involved in wrestling for the rest of his life. His advice to his successors is not to focus so much on the start, but to focus on the finish during their wrestling careers.

This is the 19th individual national title for a UCF Sport Clubs member. UCF also has 20 club national titles.

 

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UCF Student Wins Equestrian National Championship Title /news/knight-rider-wins-ucfs-first-equestrian-national-championship/ Mon, 21 May 2018 20:59:38 +0000 /news/?p=82902 Digital media student Molly Murtha recently won UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 first national championship title in equestrianship.

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Molly Murtha recently won UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 first equestrian national championship title at Intercollegiate Horse Shows Association 麻豆精品 S檚 National Championship Horse Show in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

She took home the title in the individual novice equitation on the flat category, which is one of the most difficult individual titles to win at the championships because of the size of the competition field. In the division, riders must use a horse assigned to them and are judged on their ability to drive or restrain the animal. Murtha competed against 16 other riders vying for the judges 麻豆精品 S scores.

麻豆精品 S淭he hardest part is figuring out the horse quickly and effectively since every single one is different, 麻豆精品 S says Murtha, who is a member of UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 equestrian team. 麻豆精品 S淎nd you only have about five minutes to show [to the judges] that you know what you 麻豆精品 S檙e doing and look good doing it. 麻豆精品 S

The digital media major, who is focusing on web design, began riding when she was 5. In 2017, she transferred to UCF from Savannah College of Art and Design, which has a nationally known equestrian program, halfway through her second year.

麻豆精品 S淚 found a good program at UCF that I wanted to be in and it was definitely easy going back to my hometown team, 麻豆精品 S says Murtha, who is an Apopka, Florida, native. 麻豆精品 S淚 really couldn 麻豆精品 S檛 be happier to be a Knight. 麻豆精品 S

Murtha has only one more year of eligibility on the team. She plans to compete next year in the intermediate flat division, which incorporates fence jumping. She credits the UCF sport club 麻豆精品 S檚 experience for helping her to set up a great support system.

麻豆精品 S淸Joining a sport club] is a great way for you to not only make friends for life but to get to ride and share the same passion together, 麻豆精品 S she says.

With 33 national team or individual titles since 2002, UCF has one of the most successful sport club programs in the nation.

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UCF Wrestling Club Members Use the Week Away from School to Help Hurricane Victims /news/ucf-wrestling-club-members-use-week-away-school-help-hurricane-irma-victims/ Thu, 21 Sep 2017 12:59:19 +0000 /news/?p=78924 Earlier this week UCF President John C. Hitt talked about the compassion and character of university faculty, staff, administrators and students in the face of a crisis like Hurricane Irma. After Irma tore through Central Florida, the UCF Wrestling Club members put that empathetic spirit into action. Twenty members mobilized to help clean up the hardest hit communities in the area.

It all started with a flyer the team created and then canvassed across Central Florida from east to west. UCF to Downtown Orlando to Windermere, requests for help came in by the dozens. Nearly 80 in all. The team responded on a first come first serve basis then headed out to help. They cleaned up debris from streets and yards, and moved tree limbs onto curbs outside the homes of several families.

Jesse Gaudin, a senior Sport and Exercise Science major in the College of Education and Human Performance, and a three-year member of the Wrestling Club, says the debris nearly trapped one family they met, 麻豆精品 S淭hey had huge limbs covering their front door and were unable to leave the house. It took four wrestlers to drag the tree to the street. 麻豆精品 S

Gaudin credits organizational skills he learned while participating in the UCF Sport Club program for helping him pull the relief efforts together so quickly. He said the most rewarding part of the volunteer work was the opportunity to help so many people, 麻豆精品 S淲e came in contact with numerous families in the community, some including UCF alumni and faculty. It was great to build connections and establish an identity of our wrestling club within the community. 麻豆精品 S

Those connections helped the team collect donations for another Irma relief effort. Staff members at the UCF Knights Helping Knights Pantry gave out nearly all of its inventory to students in need before the storm. The shelves were bare. The team dropped off over 720 pounds of food and water during a Student Union drive to restock the pantry earlier this week. Gaudin was proud to be involved, 麻豆精品 S淭he people in the community were very gracious. Everyone commented about how much of a service we were to the community, and how much our help meant. 麻豆精品 S

Sport Clubs is one of six program areas at the UCF Recreation and Wellness Center. The Student Government Association supports and partially funds the program. For more information about the program, contact Coordinator Andrea Snead at 407.823.2408 or聽andrea.snead@ucf.edu.

See more photos .

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