Competition Preview: 2023 Concordia Dance Duals

By Jacob Knabel on Feb. 7, 2023 in Dance

SEWARD, Neb. – The Concordia University Cheer & Dance programs have upped the ante for this year’s duals event to be held inside Friedrich Arena. The 2023 Concordia Cheer & Dance Day of Duals on Saturday (Feb. 11) will feature a total of 15 cheer and 15 dance teams from across the NAIA. The format will include two rounds of duals for both cheer and dance, meaning every team present at the event will be judged on two separate competitions. The competition will get started at 10 a.m. CT and will conclude with score announcements and award presentations at 4:45 p.m.

Competition Info

Concordia Cheer & Dance Day of Duals
Saturday, Feb. 11 | Friedrich Arena
--Competition Schedule (PDF)
--Webcast: Concordia Sports Network

Schedule Outline
10 a.m. – Cheer Round 1 begins
11:42 a.m. – Dance Round 1 begins
1:18 p.m. – Cheer Round 2 begins
2:45 p.m. – Dance Round 2 begins
4:30 p.m. – Senior Recognition
4:45 p.m. – Score Announcement/Award Presentations

Overview

As part of the dual format, Concordia will be matched up against Kansas Wesleyan University and Columbia College (Mo.) in cheer and will take on Northwestern and William Penn University (Iowa) for dance. The Bulldogs are looking to bounce back from last week’s outing that fell below the standard that had been set during a strong month of January for both of Head Coach Mandi Maser’s squads. Concordia placed third out of five teams for both cheer and dance at the Doane Invite held on Feb. 3.

­On the current national leaderboards, the Bulldogs rank 11th in dance with an average score of 82.14 (four competitions) and 27th in cheer with an average score of 74.02 (three competitions). The top scores posted this season by Concordia were an 85.9 for dance and a 77.2 for cheer. In action that did not count towards the NAIA scoring system, the Bulldogs won the Concordia Invitational Tournament dance competition while placing second in cheer at CIT.

The field of teams at the Concordia Day of Duals will be made up exclusively of NAIA institutions. The GPAC squads that will be present are College of Saint Mary (dance only), Doane, Dordt, Hastings, Midland, Morningside and Northwestern. While the event features a series of duals, the team with the highest scoring average for both cheer and dance will be rewarded during the closing ceremony.

Senior recognition: Before scores and awards are announced on Saturday, Concordia will honor its senior class. The six seniors that will be honored are listed below.

·        Katie (Anderson) Birtell (Columbus, Neb.)

·        Brenden Ingram (Kearney, Neb.)

·        Madi Koch (Doniphan, Neb.)

·        Sabrina Reed (Crete, Neb.)

·        Kathryn Taylor (Oklahoma City, Okla.)

·        Lizbeth Vargas-Tapia (Omaha, Neb.)

2023 Concordia Dance Competition Scores/Results
1/11 – 80.55 (dual vs. College of Saint Mary)
1/19 – 85.9 (dual vs. Morningside)
1/25 – 83.1 (triangular vs. Hastings/Mount Marty)
1/28 – 1st place (CIT)
2/3 – 78.97 (3rd place at Doane Invite)

2023 Concordia Cheer Competition Scores/Results
1/19 – 77.2 (dual vs. Morningside)
1/25 – 74.25 (dual vs. Hastings)
1/28 – 2nd place (CIT)
2/3 – 70.60 (3rd place at Doane Invite)

Prior to Saturday’s Concordia Duals, the Bulldogs will also be at the York University Crown Classic Invite on Friday. That event is scheduled to get underway at 3 p.m. CT. Up next week, Concordia is scheduled to head to the Dordt Invite on Saturday, Feb. 18. That will be the final outing prior to the GPAC Championships/NAIA Regional Qualifier the weekend of Feb. 24-25.