SIOUX CITY, Iowa – The competition season came to an end on Friday (Feb. 23) for head coach Mandi Maser’s cheer and dance squads. Both teams competed at the NAIA Competitive Cheer & Dance Northwest Qualifier hosted by Morningside in Sioux City, Iowa. Concordia cheer placed ninth with a score of 49.19 while Bulldog dance also placed ninth with a score of 60.14. Nine teams were present for the cheer competition and 10 teams took part in the dance competition.
Maser’s teams began their competition seasons by hosting an event on Jan. 20. The Bulldogs placed fourth in the GPAC in cheer and eighth in dance. They also appear regularly at many home Concordia sporting events.
The Northwest Qualifier included preliminary and final rounds. The event began in Sioux City at 12:10 p.m. on Friday. In addition to GPAC institutions, Point Park University (Pa.) brought its cheer and dance teams and Waldorf College (Iowa) traveled its cheer squad.
Forty-four institutions competed for eight qualifying team championship berths (four dance, four cheer). Twenty-four teams (12 dance, 12 cheer) will make their way to the NAIA National Championships (March 8-10) hosted by the Oklahoma City Stars in Oklahoma City, Okla. The top scoring team out of each qualifying group tournament, along with the next overall highest scoring teams in each sport, advance to the 2018 NAIA National Championships.
Concordia’s cheer squad is captained by junior Kennedy Garner and senior Kathie Nguyen. Junior Neleigh Lehr serves as captain for Bulldog dance.