Woman of the Week - Ashlee Gitkos

Are you ready? Are you ready for this? Are you hangin' on the edge of your seat?! Well wait no longer my friends Week 3 WOMAN OF THE WEEK is here! And it's...

ASHLEE GITKOS

That's right Ashlee Gitkos.. or is it Gekkos? Get Close? Git-Kos? Gitkai (the plural form if you want to include her husband)? I recently discovered that it's actually said jick-iss. However you say it, Ashlee's one incredible chick! Week 1 I introduced you to MKEH, who is well known for her pictures of on the field action. Ashlee is the go-to girl if you need to remember something those pesky WAKA bombs are fuzzing out from the bar. She's the friendly paparazzi of Luckie's.

On the field you'll find Ashlee sporting the yellow jersey- team JAGERNAUTS only the coolest team name in kickball history- in my opinion. She's a die hard College Football fan (Go OKLAHOMA!) and dedicated kickball player. Her facebook page will show pictures of proof that she will sacrifice her body to catch the ball- so many bruises! and that was just warm ups!

Let's get the basics: What team do you play for, for how long, and what position do you play?

This is my fourth season playing with WAKA. I had heard about kickball leagues before when I lived in Dallas, Texas, but I was never interested in playing. Several months after my husband Kevin and I moved here, though, I met Elizabeth Arrington (formerly Sims). She told me about this kickball league, and she told me I should join her team, the Jagernauts. Through Liz, I met Dottie Wood, Sara Ruch, and Nicci Surething, and suddenly I had four people trying to sell me on kickball (talk about peer pressure!). They swore it was a good time. Kevin and I thought, "Seriously? KICKBALL?" We decided to give it a try for a season, and if we hated it, we'd never sign up again. We signed up on the very. last. day, and we almost didn't get to be on the Jagernauts because the team was so full. Liz talked to our captain, Justin Littell, and he and Brent agreed to let us on the team. Kevin and I both were immediately hooked. I'm about to wrap up the summer season in the WAAR league on a Jagernaut-Rumspringa hybrid team called Whiskey Kick. If you want to include that in the list, then this WAKA season makes my fifth season playing kickball. Not bad for a girl who never played sports before! I typically play third base. I get very unhappy when people make it to my base. There's photographic evidence of the glare I give to opponents who make it to me. I share duties on third with Liz, so I occasionally play in the outfield as well. And if I'm not on the field, then I'm behind the camera on the sidelines. I guess I like to stay busy!

You're the first woman who was nominated to be in this article! Congratulations! Your friends think very highly of you, is there anything you'd like to say to them?

I didn't realize I was the first woman nominated for this writeup. How exciting! It feels awesome to be highlighted and I'm humbled that people thought to recommend me. It really is an honor. With the plethora of amazing women in our league, I was so excited to be asked to participate! (Um, bonus points to anyone who read "plethora" and thought, "a plethora of pinatas?"!) I'm not sure who nominated me, so I can't speak specifically to anyone, but I can say that signing up for kickball is one of my favorite things I've ever done. Kevin and I lived here for 7 or 8 months before we really met anyone. It's a good thing he's good company, but we're both huge people people (people persons?). The WAKA VA Peninsula league is full of fantastic people, and I've made so many great friends because of it. I feel very lucky to have been brought into this league and placed on such a great team. Kudos to Brent for building such a wonderful league with such a fun attitude!

Can you tell me how you really feel about Oklahoma college football?

Oklahoma football? I would love to say something sarcastic about not being into it, but I can't even bring myself to do that. I freakin' LOVE college football, and what's not to love about the team with the most wins in modern college football? I'm Sooner born and Sooner bred (For those who don't follow college football, that's part of our fight song, which is a lyrical masterpiece -- OK, that might be a bit of sarcasm there. It means I was born & raised in Oklahoma by parents who were Sooner fans.). I graduated from the University of Oklahoma, and I actually was in the band all through college. It's hard to not become a huge football fan when you're part of the largest spirit organization on campus and find yourself doing things like marching in the Rose Bowl parade and playing for the national championship at the Sugar Bowl and the Orange Bowl (so we're clear, that Orange Bowl game was stricken from the record, so there's no need to give me grief about that one!). Norman, Oklahoma, is one of my very favorite places on the planet. I loved every minute of my college experience -- even the non-football parts.

Has there ever been an official "after midnight photo" that you haven't been in?!

Actually, there is an after-midnight photo that I wasn't in. HOWEVER, I was at Luckie's when it was taken. I was actually trying to get the Rumspringa boys to come in for the picture, and they were stalling because they had just ordered shots. I was trying to get them to take the shots like a Jagernaut would (read: down it & get back to the party!), but they were moving a little slow. By the time we got inside, the picture was done. We took our own little AFTER after-midnight photo to prove we were there. That's the only photo I've missed, if that counts.

I think I'm going to count that. You were there, there's photographic evidence, I'll allow it ;)

WHAT OTHER PEOPLE ARE SAYING ABOUT ASHLEE

"Ashlee is AWESOME! Not only is she a great teammate and an even better friend - she's the Great Connector of our league. Seriously. There's not too many people that can say that they don't know who she is. She's always so busy at Luckie's chatting it up with people and making sure everyone is having a good time. We wouldn't be the social league that we are today without her!"- Trici Fredrick, Jagernauts

"Ashlee Gitkos is as genuine as they come. She's an extremely sweet person and deserves to be noticed as WAKA' s WotW."- Ricky Holmes, Rumspringa

"Funny, smart, energetic, and (dare I say) THUNDERSTRUCK!!!!What's not to love?!?"- Mimi Gill, Rumspringa & Week 2 WotW

"She is always very upbeat and happy!"- Derek Patterson, Chicken Tetrizzini

"The Wiffle (Ashlee) never lets us down, whether she's OWNING 3rd Base or sharpshooting behind the camera. You can also thank her for the After-Midnight Photo...what an awesome tradition that's become!"- Kevin Gitkos, Jagernauts & Ashlee's hubby (awwwww)

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And there it is, Sooner Ashlee Gitkos, Jagernaut's 3rd base bodyguard.

Send me your nominations for next week's WotW!

~Noelle, Vicious and Delicious