Head Coach: Mandi Maser (10th season); 2020 GPAC Cheer Coach of the Year
2025 GPAC Finish: 4th/8
2025 Dance All-GPAC: Hanna Bitner (First Team); Taylor Larsen (First Team); Elise O’Neill (Third Team); Kaylee Powell (Third Team); Bianca Romshek (Third Team).
2025 NAIA Dance All-American: Taylor Larsen (Second Team).
2025 GPAC Championships Returners, competition roster: Hanna Bitner (Jr.); Alexis Carlen (So.); Brynley Cooper (So.); Taylor Larsen (Sr.); Elise O’Neill (Sr.); Kaylee Powell (Jr.); Bianca Romshek (So.).
2025 Average Competition Score: 82.27 (8th in NAIA)
Outlook
For the past couple of years, the Concordia University, Nebraska Competitive Dance program has put itself on the cusp of reaching the national championship stage. Entering the 2026 competition season, the Bulldogs are rallying around the theme of ‘trust the timing.’ In other words, the timing may not have been quite right for that breakthrough onto the national scene in 2024 or 2025, but the belief is that it’s coming this March.
On paper, it appears Head Coach Mandi Maser’s roster has never before been better prepared to realize a dream. Concordia returns seven of eight athletes from last season’s GPAC Championships competition roster and welcomes in eight freshmen. This will be year 10 for Maser as head coach.
“We have a great freshman class that came in,” Maser said. “The talent level in that class is very high. They join a group of returners that are experienced, talented and have a lot of drive. They are high achieving individuals in all areas of their lives. It invites athletes of their caliber to want to be part of our program. There is a high expectation when they walk in the door. I think we’re ready to break that wall down and go to nationals.”
Among the seven returners from the 2025 competition lineup are five Bulldogs who earned GPAC All-Conference awards. That group includes team captains in seniors Taylor Larsen and Elise O’Neill. A native of Ravenna, Neb., Larsen has garnered All-America distinction in back-to-back years. Larsen and O’Neill have played starring roles in the program’s rise to the status of an NAIA top 10 team. In back-to-back years, Concordia has finished top 10 nationally in terms of scoring average.
The entire world of NAIA dance and cheer is adapting to a new scoring rubric for 2026. The fundamental combination of jazz, pom and hip hop remains intact. This preseason, the Bulldogs have focused inward while pushing the team’s overall skillset beyond the level of past Concordia teams.
Says the All-American Larsen, “We keep our standards really high even though our rubric changed. We’re still pushing ourselves to do the hardest skills possible even if it’s not necessarily a requirement. We want to reach that next level. Even if it’s not required, we’re making sure we’re putting in the work to do the hardest skills that we can and take it to the next level.”
This past 2025 season, Larsen earned First Team All-GPAC accolades along with Hanna Bitner (now a junior). Third team all-conference awards were won by O’Neill, Kaylee Powell and Bianca Romshek. Fellow returners in sophomores Alexis Carlen and Brynley Cooper were also regulars on the competition floor last season. Maser says that the team has been practicing with 12 athletes as part of the 2026 routine. Included in that bunch are seven lineup returners, a sophomore and four freshmen.
The early returns have the Bulldogs believing they can compete with the very best in the GPAC, a conference that sent three teams to the 2025 NAIA National Championships. Impressively, four of the NAIA’s top nine teams (in terms of scoring average) – and the national champion – came from the GPAC. Concordia would put itself in prime position if it can crack the top three at the 2026 conference championships.
“The best team in the country is in our backyard,” Maser said. “They’re reigning champions right now and they’re in the top two or three every year. Our girls grew up with them and danced with them. They all know each other. They have a great time competing against each other. We believe we can be right there with them. We like having the toughest teams in our conference and in our region. Our regular competitions are against some of the best teams in the country.”
As the lone seniors on the roster, Larsen and O’Neill are feeling a sense of urgency as they push their teammates to be the best they can. Before any goals can be accomplished, the Bulldogs first have to put the work in – and they are. From there, it comes down to faith.
“The girls chose Ecclesiastics 3:1 as their Bible verse for this year,” Maser said. “It’s really about trusting the timing. They feel like this is their time. This is when they’re going to do it. We have the right people and the right ambition towards it. That’s something that goes back to July. They have really dived into it. They are trusting the timing. We didn’t make it (to nationals) last year. It wasn’t time yet. They’re investing in that theme in dancing and in their lives outside of athletics.”
Added O’Neill, “We keep getting closer and closer to nationals. Our score keeps getting higher and we are getting different accolades. It’s just really hard to get close every year and not quite reach it. We’re trying to stay rooted. God’s timing is the perfect timing. We’re letting that guide us this year.”
Larsen takes her role as a team captain seriously. She explained the scope of what it means to be a captain. She relishes that chance to share that title with her best friend O’Neill.
“It means holding myself accountable and also holding my teammates accountable, whether that’s in the weight room or at practice,” Larsen said. “It’s about making sure we’re all working towards the same goal. We want to go to nationals. We want to break that barrier. It’s a lot of accountability and making sure everyone’s in a good headspace to achieve those goals we’ve set for ourselves.”
No matter what happens on the dance floor, the Bulldogs plan to soak up the moments they will share as teammates. This is the last hurrah for Larsen and O’Nell. Said O’Neill, “(I’m most looking forward to) getting to travel with everyone. We always love getting to stay in hotels together. That’s a highlight every year regardless of how we do. Seeing how our scores can improve and getting the judges feedback is something is another thing we always look forward to.”
Concordia has many reasons to believe this can be a historic year for the program. The pieces are in place for another year of close competition with the nation’s best teams.
In summation, Maser stated, “We have great leaders. Our two senior captains are both great. They have been leaders since they got here and are finally at the end of the road their senior years. It’s a team they helped build and helped get us where we are – as well as the juniors. They helped recruit and build this team and bring in the athletes that have the right mindset and right energy. They want to be at Concordia, they want to succeed and they want to be able to dance.”
The 2026 competition season will kick off with a dual versus College of Saint Mary on Jan. 21. The Bulldogs will also host the Concordia Invite on Feb. 7. A total of seven regular season competitions will lead into the 2026 GPAC Championships at Northwestern on March 7. The complete schedule can be found HERE.