DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - The Gannon competitive cheer co-ed and all-girl teams both recorded top-five finishes Friday during the finals of the National Cheerleaders Association (NCA) Collegiate Cheer and Dance National Championships in Daytona Beach, Florida. One day after both teams generated the best preliminary finishes in program history, the squads posted national finals finishes that either tied or set new program bests.
The co-ed squad finished fourth nationally in the Small Co-Ed Division II with a 91.30 score. Competing in the finals for the second time during their two-year history after finishing third in Thursday's prelims, the Golden Knights produced their best national finish in program history.
Blinn (Texas) College captured the national championship with a 94.70 mark. Central Oklahoma (93.50), McKendree (Ill.) (91.82), Gannon (91.25) and Limestone (S.C.) (91.15) completed the top five. A total of 15 co-ed teams participated in the finals.
The Gannon co-ed team had three perfect scores on its scorecard. In addition to a perfect 10 out of 10 points in the 45-second gameday that carried over from Thursday's prelims, the Golden Knights earned 10 out of 10 points for collegiate image and five out of five points in jumps. The squad produced second-best score among the 15-team field in pyramids TECH and third-best mark in tosses, tosses TECH, standing tumbling, running tumbling, jumps TECH and average overall effect.
The all-girl squad tied its best national finish in program history, placing fifth in the Intermediate All-Girl Division II with a 91.90 mark. The Lady Knights advanced to the finals for the third time during the program's four-year history after producing the second-best score during Thursday's preliminaries with a 92.20 total.
Central Oklahoma won the national championship with a 94.40 mark. Grand Valley State (Mich.) (94.37), Lander (S.C.) (92.43), California (Pa.) (92.40) and Gannon (91.90) completed the top five.
The Gannon all-girl team also secured three perfect scores. In addition to a perfect 10 out of 10 points in the 45-second gameday that carried over from Thursday's prelims, the Lady Knights earned 10 out of 10 points for collegiate image and five out of five points in jumps. The squad produced the best score among the seven-team finals in stunts, pyramids, running tumbling, jumps, jumps TECH, 45-second gameday and collegiate image.
