Wedding Party

Paige Penn

Maid of Honor

Paige and I met in 4th grade, when I moved to Arkansas from Massachussetts. We became fast friends, and were nearly inseparable from the start. We went from crying on the phone to each other about how hard and demanding the "Gifted and Talented" program at our elementary school was, to building forts in her mom's bedroom while watching Desperate Housewives and eating General Tso's Chicken. Later, we invented our infamous Triple Cheese, Double Turkey Sandwich. The recipe is a coveted secret. At 16, we both started working at BA Burrito in Jonesboro, AR, where we stayed employed for about 4-5 years. That place was, and still is family to us. Throughout the years we've lived very close, and also very far, but our friendship has refused to wane. Ride or die homies for life.

Vera Fedorenko

Bridesmaid

Vera was quite possibly the first friend I ever had. This likely isn't true, but I don't remember having any other friends before her. We met when both of our moms were coaching at Bryant College in Rhode Island. We would play in the long jump pits, the steeple chase water, and of course on the pole vault pits when they were stacked in the shed for storage. Man, it was good times. I would go stay at her house for the weekend often, and we would (along with her three younger brothers) terrorize her family home and all of the surrounding areas. The shenanigans were truly endless then, and you better believe they'll be truly endless in Key West in January!

Margee Pesikov

Bridesmaid

Margee and I met when I was in first grade. She lived down the street, and man, how lucky was I to find another Russian speaking friend so close? Of course we never spoke Russian when we played, much to the dismay of our parents. I spent so much time at her house, playing in the tree house (which, looking back now was probably wildly unsafe), and hunting for "marshmallows" (we would pull up ferns to find their root bulbs). Her poor parents had to put up with us shrieking with laughter until we cried almost every day. We were REALLY annoying... Which is probably why we ended up marshmallow hunting a lot... because that was out of earshot. It's a wonder we made it to where we are today, considering how much stupid stuff we did when we were little.

Megan Wright

Bridesmaid

Megan and I met at Arkansas State University our freshman year. We were slated to be roommates, but due to some meddling on my part, I ended up rooming with another incoming freshman. Boy was that a mistake on my part, because I ended up moving out of that rooming situation in three weeks. I should have trusted my coach when he wanted to pair me with Megan. We ended up rooming together for every track meet all throughout college. Every Friday night during season, we would watch Say Yes to the Dress in our hotel room, and talk about boys and life. It was tradition. Throughout all the changes that come with this period in one's life, it was nice to know that no matter what, Megan would always be there... at practice, in study hall, at parties, and on the road. This time is no different.

Natalie Uy

Bridesmaid

Natalie came into my life by what seemed to be random chance. I was living in Colorado at the time, training alone. She called me out of the blue one day, having contacted one of my coach's previous athletes. It was clear to me within minutes of speaking on the phone with her, that she was supper bubbly and all around excited about life, and all the possibilities it holds. She told me she was thinking about moving out to Colorado to come train with me, and i thought, 'I'll believe it when I see it." Well, a short while later, she did it! This was such a strange time in both of our lives. We were both going through huge transitions, figuring out what to do with life and our sport. I truly don't think we'd have made it to where we are today without each other's support.

Anicka Newell

Bridesmaid

After living in Colorado for a year and a half, I moved down to Texas to train with Anicka. I didn't have a place to stay, and she graciously let me stay in her living room. I ended up living on a blow up air mattress for three weeks. Those three weeks were some of the most fun I had ever had. We may have almost shed tears when I got my airstream to Texas and moved out of her living room... Having competed against Anicka in college a handful of times, I knew of her, but didn't really know her. To my delight, she was one of the most caring and giving people someone could come across. She's kind of like an M&M... hard exterior, but super sweet on the inside.

Serguei Pevtsov

Father of the Bride

Dean Starkey

Father of the Groom

Maureen Smith

Mother of the Groom