Central's Flaska, Brandhorst sign letters to continue their athletic careers

“I always had the dream of cheering at big football games, big basketball games, and so Mizzou really gave me that option to do that while still staying close to home, being like an affordable option,” Brandhorst said. “So yeah, that just played a big role in my options.”

Signing an NLI to a Division I school isn’t an easy task to achieve, especially for the future Tiger who didn’t get into the sport of cheering until late. She originally started out as a gymnast, and would see the cheer team practicing.

After time and time again watching the cheer squad, she knew she would eventually end up participating in the sport. That decision would ultimately become life changing.

“I’m really thankful to have the opportunity because I started cheerleading really late in my life,” Brandhorst said. “I felt like as my senior season was ending, I just felt like I wasn’t really done yet, so I’m just glad that I can have the opportunity to continue cheerleading at a higher level.”

Right after Brandhorst had photos taken with the abundance of family and friends, Central tennis player River Flaska took the pen to paper to sign his name across the dotted line to continue his tennis career at Baker University.

The signing comes one day after Flaska helped lead Central to their first district title in more than 20 years. The future Wildcat can’t wait to get started next spring.

“My coach really has guided me the entire way through my journey, and he really connected with the Baker coach and put me in connection with him,” Flaska said. “I spoke to him and I just really felt like he was a great coach that could push me further in my journey. I just love the school, you know, It’s just a perfect place for me to learn and grow my tennis capabilities.”

Since the age of 13, Flaska knew he wanted to pursue tennis at a higher level. After dropping two sports, he would later drop baseball as it was messing with his swing, paving the way for a successful high school career.

The Wildcats compete in the NAIA and finished with a 1-10 dual match record last season. As Flaska begins his next journey, he’ll use a lesson he learned through the sport.

“No matter how far down you are, you can always push back and win the match or succeed in life,” Flaska said. “You know, I’ve been down zero to five in a match and I’ve come back and won it just off the pure mentality that I’m never going to give up and I’m always going to keep pushing.”