FREMONT, Neb. – In what turned out to be the final competitions of the season, the Concordia University cheer and dance squads competed at the NAIA Northwest Qualifier hosted in Fremont, Neb., by Midland on Friday (Feb. 22). In dance, the Bulldogs placed 10th out of 12 teams with a score of 61.17. In cheer, Concordia placed 13th out of 14 squads with a score of 48.69.
The competition season began back on Jan. 19 for head coach Mandi Maser’s programs, which are captained by junior Annie Pico (Mesa, Ariz.) for cheer and sophomore Kalina Schoenfeld (Carroll, Iowa) for dance.
The NAIA Northwest Qualifier included athletes from eight GPAC institutions as well as performers from Bethel University, Loyola University, Martin Methodist College, the University of Mobile, Point University, Union College and Waldorf University. The event included a preliminary round and then a final round. The final scores were calculated by weighting the final round score as 75 percent of the total and the prelims as 25 percent of the total.
Throughout 2018-19, the Bulldogs competed in big competitions such as the Concordia Invitational Tournament and the GPAC Championships. Concordia also hosted its own invite on Feb. 2. At the conference championships, the Bulldogs placed sixth in dance and seventh in cheer. The teams also appear regularly at other sporting events such as basketball, football, volleyball and wrestling.
Six seniors will graduate and move on from the cheer and dance programs: Elizabeth Frakes, Kennedy Garner, Taeva Hoppe, Neleigh Lehr, Sarah Rogge and Chelsea Willard.