WICHITA, Kan. – In a unique cheer and dance event hosted by Friends University, the Concordia University Cheer team competed as one of seven squads present in Wichita, Kan., on Saturday (Jan. 23). In combining scores from their two performances, the Bulldogs posted a total of 153.20 for a third-place finish. This marked the third outing of the season for Concordia, which last competed on Jan. 16 when it hosted a home dual.
Head Coach Mandi Maser’s cheer squad is showing major signs of progress. It also owns dual victories this season over Mount Marty and Morningside. Said Maser, "We had two solid performances. We turned up the difficulty level of both stunt sequences this week and their scores increased by a substantial amount. Really proud of this team for constantly working together, pushing themselves and overall becoming more competitive every time we step on the mat."
The Bulldogs and GPAC rival Hastings joined a field made up mostly of Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference opponents on Saturday. As part of the competition, Concordia won a triangular over Bethany College (Kan.) and host Friends before competing in a dual. However, the place finishes (see bottom) were awarded based on the total scores put forth by the judges.
The Bulldog Cheer competition roster included the following 10 on-the-floor athletes:
· Senior Kaci Hohenthaner (Council Bluffs, Iowa)
· Junior Brenden Ingram (Kearney, Neb.)
· Junior Danielle Larsen (Omaha, Neb.)
· Freshman Kenna Millhouse (Twin Bridges, Mont.)
· Junior Josie O’Laughlin (Winona, Minn.)
· Sophomore Sabrina Reed (Crete, Neb.)
· Senior Cora Rhode (Fort Morgan, Colo.)
· Junior Isabel Sermeno (Seward, Neb.)
· Sophomore Kathryn Taylor (Oklahoma City, Okla.)
· Freshman Shelby Timmerman (Clatonia, Neb.)
The Bulldog Cheer team will now have a break in the action while preparing for the Concordia Cheer & Dance Invitational scheduled to unfold inside Friedrich Arena on Saturday, Feb. 6. The dance competition is slated to begin at 10 a.m. CT with cheer to follow at 11:45 a.m. This will mark the third annual Concordia Invite.
Cheer place finishes (based on two scores added together)
1. Hastings – 167.68
2. Bethel – 159.47
3. Concordia – 153.20
4. Friends – 138.13
5. York – 137.68
6. Bethany – 107.36
7. Kansas Wesleyan – 89.85