SEWARD, Neb. – It’s championship week for the Concordia University Competitive Cheer and Dance teams. The 2024 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 Doane for dance.
2024 GPAC Cheer Championship
Saturday, March 9 | 10 a.m. | Haddix Center (Doane campus)
Live Stream: https://www.youtube.com/user/doaneathletics/live
Event Schedule – Cheer
-Performance times:
10:00 a.m. – Northwestern
10:11 a.m. – Midland
10:22 a.m. – Concordia
10:33 a.m. – Mount Marty
10:44 a.m. – Hastings
10:55 a.m. – Morningside
11:06 a.m. – Doane
11:17 a.m. – Dordt
12:39 p.m. – finals begin (order based on preliminary scores)
2:30 p.m. – All-conference auditions
3:05 p.m. – Awards ceremony/score announcements
Leading up to the championship competition, Head Coach Emilie Ashenbach’s cheer squad has competed in five separate events with five routines that counted towards the official NAIA scoring system. The Bulldogs’ average competition score for 2023-24 is 80.58, which ranks 21st best in the NAIA. The team’s highest score of the season was an 84.13 (also a school record) at the Concordia Day of Duals. Seniors on this year’s squad include Kayla Johnson, Victoria Perry, Bre Romero, Elizabeth Schultz and Shelby Timmerman.
2024 competition results
1/20 – 83.30 (dual vs. Hastings)
1/27 – Placed 2nd at CIT
2/9 – 75.02 (3rd out of 14 at York Invite)
2/10 – 80.47 (dual vs. Columbia)
2/10 – 84.13 (dual vs. William Woods)
2/17 – 80.9 (1st out of 8 at Dordt Invite)
At the 2023 GPAC Championship, the Bulldogs placed third with a score of 83.36. Concordia placed behind only Midland and Northwestern. The current top five teams in the GPAC, based on average score, are: Midland (87.33), Northwestern (84.03), Concordia (80.58), Hastings (78.90) and Morningside (75.63).
For those who qualify, the 2024 season will continue at the eighth annual Competitive Cheer and Dance National Championship, scheduled for March 29-30 in Ypsilanti, Mich. For additional information on the national event, check out the NAIA sport home pages: Cheer | Dance.