Ravenna’s Megan Jones Becomes Cavalier Girl
By Tom Nader
Recordpub.com
It has happened to all of us at some point in our lives.
That moment when you wake up in the morning, glance at the clock on the nightstand next to your bed and realize that you missed something important because you slept in.
That is exactly what happened to Ravenna’s Megan Jones on one of the biggest days of her life.
On the day of her Cavalier Girl dance team audition, Jones found herself running behind by two full hours.
Her first instinct?
“I just wasn’t going to go,” she said. “I thought that there is no way I could get to Cleveland in time for them to still let me tryout.”
Taking a chance, she drove to Quicken Loans Arena anyway.
“The door was locked when I got there,” said Jones, who is a 2007 Ravenna High School graduate.
Then, fate intervened.
Just as Jones was turning around to leave, a Cavs cameraman happened to be entering the same door that was locked. When he noticed that Jones was locked out, he let her in.
Jones bolted to the audition, becoming the 498th girl to tryout — out of 498. The judges were impressed and asked Jones to return for the second-day tryout.
The tryout eventually lasted four consecutive days for Jones, with each day including a series of cuts. When the final day was over, Jones had become one of the franchise’s newest Cavalier Girls.
For Jones, the excitement of a dream coming true was immediate.
“Growing up in Northeast Ohio I have always been a huge Cavs fan,” Jones said. “Being a Cavalier Girl is such a prestigious honor, and I am very proud to be a part of the group.”
With the season only nine games old, it has already been a whirlwind for Jones.
“Every single day there is just so much new stuff that is thrown my way,” Jones said. “Photo shoots, appearances and commercials … it is a little overwhelming, but I am looking at each day as a great opportunity.”
Jones started dance classes when she was six years old through the Ravenna Parks and Recreation Department. While in high school, she was a Ravenna Raven cheerleader for four years.
But cheering in front of a couple thousand fans on a football Friday night is a little different than performing at a sold out arena that seats 20,562. Not to mention the millions that could be watching on TV each night.
“Honestly, when I am out there on the court, it is almost like I black out in a sense,” Jones said. “It is such a rush and so much fun, that I am not focused on how many people are there. My concentration is on the routine and having fun.”
“I am so lucky to even have this opportunity that I don’t want to stress about the things that could make me nervous,” said the managerial marketing major and pre-law minor student, who transferred to Kent State this semester from Ohio University to accommodate her busy schedule with the Cavs.
Appearances will make her schedule even more hectic after Jones was voted to appear on the cover of the team’s annual Cavalier Girl calendar.
“I was shocked to be honest,” Jones said of the unveiling that was held at the Barley House in Cleveland last week.
In just a couple of weeks, all of it has turned a girl from small-town Ravenna into a celebrity.
“I don’t know how to react,” she said. “When I am leaving the games, girls come up to me and ask for my autograph. I just smile, because I can’t believe they want my autograph.
“It is such a great feeling to be a part of this, and I feel like I have accomplished something very special and very important in my life.”
