For all you spring break game players — and especially for those who play that spring perennial called Cornhole, meet Sheri Eggleton, head of the Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis JagTag office.

Cornhole may be the fastest growing game in America say some experts, and women are beginning to compete successfully at the “world-class level,” according to Mark Rogers, author of Cornhole: Throwing Bags in a Hole. In his book, recently published by Amalgam Studio of Chicago, author Mark Rogers lists Sheri Eggleton among the top six players of the sport that derives its name from the traditional stuffing of the bags tossed in a game which is played much like horseshoes.

Eggleton was the number one-ranked woman going into last month’s World Championships tournament sponsored by the American Cornhole Organization. Previously held in Las Vegas, the matches determined six championship titles — including King of Cornhole — at Horseshoe Southern Indiana casino in Elizabeth.

The competition for the King title was tough, and her opponents had no mercy on a woman playing, said Eggleton. The first-place winner took home $1,100 in prize money and the coveted King Championship Ring. Unfortunately, the title King of Cornhole for now remains in the future for Eggleton. She placed third in the qualifier round of the title play qualifier but fell in the first round of the King competition. In the newly created Queen of Cornhole competition, she placed among the top four players.

The game — sometimes called “bags” — basically involves players pitching small square bags into a small hole near the top of a wooden board that is 2 feet wide and 4 feet long. The hole is about 30 feet from the players who earn three points for bags that go into the hole and one point for bags that land on the board.

Only a handful of women were among the approximately 300 players who participated in the King championship matches at Horseshoe. Eggleton entered the competition ranked 47th overall, having missed one of the year’s points-earning competitions due to sickness.

“My best placement in the nationals has been the top 16,” said Eggleton, who made a name for herself professionally in 2009 when she nearly beat Randy Atha, the then-rated number two player in the world during a preliminary event. “It was just a big deal at the time for a woman to come in and play against a man at that level,” the Plainfield native said.

In August 2010, Eggleton became the first woman to seed in the ACO’s Monster Tailgate Bash Championships — a spotlight competition for the country’s top 16 players.

Eggleton began playing “bags” after she and a friend stumbled upon a bean bag toss game while browsing in a local sports store. Going most often to Louisville or Cincinnati for games, she now travels every weekend to play.

While there is skill and strategy involved in winning, the game also takes a lot of practice, if you want to compete, and requires a lot of focus and concentration, Eggleton said.

Hometown Sports Indiana streamed the February championship live.

Here’s hoping that IUPUI’s Eggleton makes it to the championship round next year!

article courtesy of IU Homepages