By Amanda Alfanos, Web Editor
Emily Tobin has never been one to cry, but said she found herself tearing up Saturday after learning she contributed to winning two national championships for OCU.
“There has never been a better feeling,” she said. “Everyone was screaming, hugging, jumping up and down, and laughing.”
The biomedical sciences senior is on two of the teams responsible for winning two titles at the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics national championships April 6-10 in Daytona, Fla. Tobin is on the pom and large coed cheer teams.
Pom team members took first place in large dance team performance. Cheerleaders won first place in the large coed division and second place in the small coed division, said Brandy Corcoran, cheer/pom coach.
The large coed cheer and pom teams placed second in their divisions last year. This was the first time there was a separate division made for NAIA-level teams, Tobin said.
The teams competed against other NAIA universities, junior and community colleges, versus larger schools with football teams, according to the competition’s website.
Though competing against fewer schools gave the teams an advantage, it was apparent that the pom team dominated, said Virginia Fox, senior pom team member/co-captain of the squad.
“We scored higher than the other teams in Division 3, which is the division we competed in last year,” she said. “I think it was all of our hard work that paid off.”
It is the first year the small coed cheer team competed. Contending and placing in the division was an accomplishment for OCU, Corcoran said.
“This is very big for us,” she said. “We’ve only been around for four years.”
Tobin said she has been on the pom squad since it began two years ago. Winning this year meant a lot to her because of challenges the team overcame.
“One guy tore his bicep before the competition and we had someone step in for her a week before,” she said. “It just made winning the event that much more cool.”
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