SEWARD, Neb. – Competition season is underway for Concordia University, Nebraska Competitive Cheer and Dance. As part of the 2025 Concordia Invitational Tournament, the Bulldogs will take the floor at the Cardinal Fieldhouse in Ann Arbor, Mich., on Saturday (Jan. 25) morning. Coaches Mandi Maser and Emilie Ashenbach will lead their squads up against the Concordias of Ann Arbor, Chicago and Wisconsin. This will mark the sixth time that CIT has included cheer and dance competitions as part of the grand event.
CIT 2025 Competition Schedule
Saturday, Jan. 25 – Cheer CIT, 9 a.m. CT / 10 a.m. ET
--Live Stream | Location: Cardinal Fieldhouse (Ann Arbor, Mich.)
--Schedule: TBA
Saturday, Jan. 25 – Dance CIT, 10:30 a.m. CT / 11:30 a.m. ET
--Live Stream | Location: Cardinal Fieldhouse (Ann Arbor, Mich.)
--Schedule: TBA
--Admission: Tournament passes costs $20 presale (online) and $30 at the door.
--Purchase tickets online HERE.
Visit the official 2025 CIT webpage for more information: https://www.concordiacardinals.com/CIT/2025.
Competing Concordias
Concordia University Ann Arbor (CUAA)
Concordia University Chicago (CUC)
Concordia University Nebraska (CUNE)
Concordia University Wisconsin (CUW)
Overview
The first outing of the 2025 dance competition season took place this past Saturday as the Bulldogs hosted College of Saint Mary in a dual. CUNE emerged victorious by a score of 80.9 to 72.7. The score achieved by the Bulldogs aligns closely with the 2024 team’s season average of 80.57, which ranked 10th best in the NAIA. Maser is in her ninth season as head coach of the program. CUNE welcomed back two All-Americans in sophomore Hanna Bitner and junior Taylor Larsen. The competition roster in the season opener included Bitner, Larsen and fellow returners in junior Elise O’Neill and sophomore Kaylee Powell in addition to freshmen Brynley Cooper, Bianca Romshek and Jozlin Schmidt. In the GPAC preseason poll that was released on Jan. 14, CUNE landed in a tie for fourth.
CIT will be the first official competition of 2025 for Bulldog Cheer. Ashenbach enters her second season as head coach. From last season’s GPAC Championships roster, CUNE returns senior Lexi Mack, juniors LaCole Anno, Ara Maxwell and Lauryn Stanley and sophomores Kalynn Jeardoe and Mya Stover. The program also welcomed seven freshmen (including Rhiannon Van Osdel) when this past fall semester began. The Bulldogs averaged a score of 80.72 (21st in the NAIA) in 2024 and were picked sixth in the GPAC preseason poll.
The CUNE dance program will attempt to reclaim the CIT trophy after it went back to Concordia University Ann Arbor in 2024. The first CIT championship for either the Bulldog cheer or dance programs was seized in 2023 when CUNE dance took first place in front of the home fans inside Friedrich Arena. At the 2024 CIT held in Mequon, Wis., the Bulldogs placed second in cheer and third in dance. CIT added cheer and dance competitions beginning in 2018. CUAA has won each of the first five CIT cheer competitions (and the 2019 and 2024 dance competitions) while Concordia University Wisconsin took first in the dance competitions in 2018 and 2020. CUNE played the role of CIT host for cheer and dance competitions for the first time in 2023. The event was put on hold in 2021 and 2022 due to COVID-19.
It should be noted that the CIT competitions are not governed by NAIA rules. The scoring system for CIT was devised by coaches of the Concordias to accommodate both NAIA and NCAA schools that participate.
Past CIT Cheer/ Dance Results
2024
Cheer (max score of 90)
1. CUAA – 67.30
2. CUNE – 60.52
3. CUC – 56.20
4. CUW – 48.33
Dance (max score of 70)
1. CUAA – 58.1
2. CUW – 56.8
3. CUNE – 55.2
4. CUC – 50.7
2023
Cheer (max score of 90)
1. CUAA – 79.12
2. CUNE – 79.04
3. CUC – 64.5
4. CUW – 45.5
Dance (max score of 70)
1. CUNE – 60.05
2. CUC – 55.87
3. CUAA – 52.52
4. CUW – 47.75
2020
Cheer
1. CUAA – 96.00
2. CUC – 82.67
3. CUNE – 74.32
4. CUW – 62.67
Dance
1. CUW – 58.83
2. CUC – 55.67
3. CUAA – 54.00
4. CUNE – 51.33
2019
Cheer
1. CUAA – 81.08
2. CUC – 76.23
3. CUNE – 53.25
4. CUW – 47.33
Dance
1. CUAA – 51.33
2. CUW – 49
3. CUC – 43.33
4. CUNE – 40.67
2018
Cheer
1. CUAA – 63.5
2. CUNE – 56.75
3. CUC – 53.25
4. CUW – 47.25
Dance
1. CUW – 82.83
2. CUC – 67.5
3. CUAA – 65.5
4. CUNE – 63.3