Ashley Parnell will be in her 12th season as the Spirit Coordinator and head coach of the Drury University cheerleading program in 2022-23 and the upcoming year will be her second as the institution's full-time Spirit Coordinator.
Under Parnell, the Drury University Cheerleading program has grown to be one of the largest and most successful programs in the GLVC and Division II while always promoting the university in a positive way while achieving national recognition on the competition floor.
She led the team to its first-ever national cheerleading championship in 2020 at UCA College Nationals. In 2021, the small coed and gameday teams both finished third while competing in Division I (Divisions were combined due to Covid). Over her previous 11 years as head coach, all competing teams have finished in the top 5 , while in the last four years, teams have placed in the top three of D-II.
Parnell began her collegiate cheerleading career at Drury, where she earned All-American honors and competed at the UCA College National Championship multiple times, placing in the top five in every appearance.
Ashley is married to Drury alum Ben Parnell (’03) and has 7-year-old children, twins Carver & Avery. Ashley is a member of USA Cheer, is USA Cheer Safety Certified (formerly AACCA). She also serves as the state director of Missouri and Nebraska for Varsity Spirit and sits on various state association committees and boards for cheerleading.
Ashley earned her Bachelor of Arts in Public Relations, Advertising and Applied Communication from Drury University in 2006.
The following notable finishes at UCA College Nationals:
2022 DII Small Coed Silver Medalist, Small Open Coed Gameday, 7th place
2021 DI Small Coed Bronze Medalist & Open Coed Gameday Bronze Medalist
2020- DII Small Coed Gold Medalist & National Champion
2019- DII Small Coed Silver Medalist
2018- DII Small Coed Silver Medalist
