CRETE, Neb. – Four days after hosting their own invite, the Concordia University cheer and dance teams returned to action Wednesday (Feb. 5) night at Doane. While both Bulldog teams were defeated by the host Tigers, they continued to show progress while turning in their highest scores yet this season – 63.50 for cheer and 70.75 for dance. The competitions were held in conjunction with the basketball games at Doane.
Head coach Mandi Maser’s squads have both competed five times since their seasons began at the Doane Invite on Jan. 19. The Bulldogs hope they are hitting their stride with the conference championships coming up.
“I was happy to see the higher scores for both teams,” Maser said. “We definitely got better. We’re looking forward to the GPAC Championships on Saturday and are hoping to see more improvement.”
In the GPAC Championships that took place last season in Hastings, Concordia placed sixth in dance and seventh in cheer. The Bulldogs will be right back at Doane (Haddix Center) on Saturday for this year’s conference meet. The cheer competition is slated to get started at 12 p.m. with dance to follow at 1:30 p.m. The complete schedule can be viewed HERE.
A senior from Broken Bow, Neb., cheer captain Morgan Fritsch has seen firsthand how the program has continued to progress in a positive direction. Said Fritsch, “Our team goal is to go out there and have a nice, clean routine (at the conference championships). We want to hit all of our stunts and have zero deductions. Most of all, we want to have fun, do what we love to do and leave it all out there on the mat.”
Following the GPAC Championships, the Bulldogs will also host Hastings for cheer and dance duals on Feb. 12. The NAIA Northwest Regional Cheer and Dance Qualifier will be hosted by Morningside (Sioux City, Iowa) on Feb. 28. Finally, the NAIA National Championships are set to unfold March 13-14 in Davenport, Iowa, where St. Ambrose University will serve as the host.
Added Fritsch, “I think our team is very special just in the fact that the word ‘can’t’ is not in our vocabulary. Our coaches will come in and they’ll be like, ‘All right, let’s try a new stunt. It’s going to be harder and more difficult.’ We’re like, ‘Let’s get to it.’ We will fail sometimes, but we’ll just keep going until we do get it. We’re all so excited. What I love most about our team is everyone is so flexible and willing to work hard.”
Concordia scores this season
CHEER
1/19 Doane Invite – 56.50
1/22 Morningside Dual – 61.0
1/25 CIT – 74.32*
2/1 Concordia Invite – 56.03
2/5 Doane Dual – 63.50
DANCE
1/19 Doane Invite – 58.05
1/22 Morningside Dual – 58.63
1/25 CIT – 51.33*
2/1 Concordia Invite – 63.06
2/5 Doane Dual – 70.75
*Judged by NCAA rules (different from NAIA)