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Arkalalah

Queen Alalah LXXVII
Finalist

Jacey Juden

Jacey Juden, the Jayhawk Conference Most Valuable Player of the Year during the 2008 softball season, will look to add to her list of accomplishments as she was recently named one of five finalists for Queen Alalah LXXVII. Crowning will take place at 8 p.m. Oct. 24 in the Robert Brown Theatre on Cowley’s Arkansas City campus.

Juden joins Brianna Byers, Blythe Colquhoun, Darci Mann, and Dori Stevens as Queen Alalah candidates.

“I’m excited, I think it is a great honor to be nominated,” Juden said. “They are all great girls and provide good representation of what this area is about.”

Juden, a 2007 graduate of Arkansas City High School, is the daughter of Bob and Reatha Juden. She has a brother, Tyler 22. Grandparents are Charles and Mary Bruner of Union Town, and Don and Carrie Elbrader of Fort Scott.

While at Ark City High School, she helped the Lady Bulldog softball team capture back-to-back state championships.

Juden originally went to the University of Arkansas to play softball, but quickly realized she missed Arkansas City. Thus, she decided to transfer to Cowley to play softball for the Lady Tigers.

“It’s a good, community based school and obviously it is right at home for me,” Juden said. “I don’t think I really knew how much I loved home until I got away.”

At Cowley, Juden devotes much of her time to softball and schoolwork. However, she is also a member of Phi Theta Kappa.

“Softball is my life, people don’t realize how much time sports take up,” Juden said. “I really love the competition factor, you either have it or you don’t’ and softball brings that out of me.”

Juden, an education major, had a stellar freshman season as a pitcher for the Lady Tiger softball team. She went 22-5 with a 1.89 earned run average on the mound, striking out 199 batters and walking only 38. She also batted .430 with three home runs and 40 runs batted in.

Both of her parents are teachers and coaches, something that Juden would like to do in the future. Her father, Bob, was a highly successful softball coach at Arkansas City High School, before retiring from coaching a year ago. He currently serves as a science teacher at the Ark City Middle School.

Her mother, Reatha, coaches volleyball and track at ACHS and is a physical education instructor. Jacey had an opportunity to play for both of her parents in high school.

In her free time she enjoys riding horses and barrel racing.

During Arkalalah, Juden enjoys seeing the people that moved away return for the festivities. She also enjoys taking part in the street games.

“There’s that competitive nature of mine again,” Juden said.

She is undecided on where she will attend after Cowley, but wants to continue playing softball at her next school as well as maybe join a collegiate rodeo team.

For now, she plans on enjoying her final year at Cowley.

“I wouldn’t change a thing,” Juden said. “The people here are great, I have had a ton of fun.”