The pom squad made history by bringing home two national titles from the National Dance Alliance National Championship, and the small co-ed cheer squad won its third consecutive National Cheer Alliance national title.
The teams competed April 6-10 in Daytona.
It is the first year in OCU history that pom won a national title for both team performance and hip hop. The team has five national championship titles.
The team posted a final score of 8.992 for team performance and 9.397 for hip hop.
“I honestly can’t tell you how awesome it feels in the moment they announce second place and you don’t hear your name,” said Talor Kline, business administration and pom sophomore. “We’re the first team for OCU pom to win both divisions we competed in, so that’s really cool to build the legacy further than what it is.”
The pom squad placed third for team performance and fourth for hip-hop at NDA last year, and placed sixth at the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Invitational on March 13 in Davenport, Iowa.
“We came into this season after a streak of really tough losses and had the goal of leaving it all on the floor, making our coach proud and representing our school,” said Rachel Ashwood, nursing and pom senior. “The outcome has exceeded our expectations and every struggle we have gone through as a team has made this double win all the more meaningful.”
The small co-ed cheer squad went to Daytona to defend its national title.
Coaches of the cheer squad changed their routine after placing second at the NAIA Invitational in March.
“We were disappointed with second place, but it also gave us an opportunity to come back and prove that we deserved to be named national champions,” said Karly Judkins, exercise science and cheer senior. “In the three week period between competitions, the cheer team showed more passion and hard work than I have seen in a long time. My teammates and I were hungry for a win and we were ready to earn it.”
The team won its third consecutive NCA national title with a final score of 92.33.
The spirit squads have won 13 NDA/NCA national titles and three NAIA dance and cheer titles since Brandy Corcoran, former head coach, started the program in 2008.
Leave a Reply