SEWARD, Neb. – It’s championship week for the Concordia University Competitive Cheer and Dance teams. The 2023 GPAC Championship competition (also a group qualifier for dance) will unfold on Friday for dance and on Saturday for cheer. Doane will serve as the host once again with action taking place inside the Haddix Center. Additional details can be found below. The reigning champions from last season are Midland for cheer and Morningside for dance.
2023 GPAC Cheer Championship
Saturday, Feb. 25 | 10 a.m. | Haddix Center (Doane campus)
Live Stream: https://www.youtube.com/user/doaneathletics/live2
Event Schedule – Cheer
-Performance times:
10:00 a.m. – Midland
10:11 a.m. – Doane
10:22 a.m. – Dordt
10:33 a.m. – Morningside
10:44 a.m. – Mount Marty
10:55 a.m. – Concordia
11:06 a.m. – Northwestern
11:17 a.m. – Hastings
12:34 p.m. – finals begin (order based on preliminary scores)
2:35 p.m. – All-conference auditions
3:00 p.m. – Awards ceremony/score announcements
Leading up to the championship competition, Head Coach Mandi Maser’s cheer squad has competed in seven separate events (eight total performances). In seven performances that have counted towards the official NAIA scoring system, the Bulldogs have turned in an average score of 76.97, a figure that ranks 30th nationally. Concordia is coming off a program record score of 82.38 achieved at the Dordt Invite on Feb. 18. The Bulldogs have been led by seniors Brenden Ingram, Sabrina Reed and Kathryn Taylor.
2023 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)
2/10 – 82.03 (4th place at York Crown Classic)
2/11 – 72.45 / 79.7 (duals vs. Kansas Wesleyan/Columbia)
2/18 – 82.38 (2nd place at Dordt Invite)
At the 2022 GPAC Championship, the Bulldogs placed fourth (out of eight) with a total score of 72.04, putting them behind Midland (86.73), Doane (85.42) and Hastings (76.05). Individually, Shelby Timmerman made history last year for Concordia by becoming the first athlete in program history to earn all-conference recognition. Heading into the ’23 conference championships, Concordia ranks fourth in the GPAC while sitting behind Midland (88.90), Northwestern (80.04) and Dordt (79.60).
For those who qualify, the 2023 season will continue at the seventh annual Competitive Cheer and Dance National Championship, scheduled for March 10-11 in Ypsilanti, Mich.