By Tanner Gonder
Both the cheer and dance team competed in the CCA Nationals Competition on March 5. After working extremely hard and pushing through blood, sweat, and tears, both teams left their all on the floor and performed exceptionally well. Exceptionally well enough that both teams took home multiple titles, sweeping the rest of the competition away.
The cheer team competed in two events, and gametime. Traditional consisted of combining difficult stunts, tumbling, and pyramids all in sync and set to music. The gametime event showed off the cheers and routines used during games and halftimes to rally the crowd and gain engagement. After a team competed in both events, the two events were then tallied together to create a grand score that determined the Grand Champion of the competition. When asked about the competition, Jackson Stone (’25) said that he felt “peace of mind knowing that everyone was in a position that they could excel at. If everyone does what they’re supposed to, we’ll hit it.”
The team competed four times, performing each routine twice. Out of 100 points, the team scored a 92.8 in traditional and a 95.6 in gametime. In addition to their already high scores, they hit zero deductions on their first round of traditional and zero deductions on their second round of gametime. This is significant because it meant that there were no errors performed throughout the routine. To round out the competition, the Knights took home the title of Grand Champion, marking the first time in school history that the cheer team has won the title of Grand Champion. Head Coach Neely Pendleton commented, “The Grand Champ title has been on our team’s bucket list for a while now, and they were determined to win it this year. We are so proud of all of their hard work.”
However, not everything has been smooth sailing for this team. Just weeks before the CCA Competition, the team was faced with injuries left and right to the extent that practices couldn’t continue until people healed. “This has not been an easy year for them. This team has had to overcome several challenges… This group is determined and will fight to the very end even through uncomfortable circumstances,” Assistant Coach Haylee Barney said. Despite looming injuries, the dedicated team was able to win Grand Champion at a national level. Looking to the future, the Knights are preparing for Daytona, making their performance a little “better and more flashy while gaining confidence in what they already have” (Stone). Look out for the cheer team as they compete at the highest level of cheer at Daytona on April 6 and 7.
The Southern Virginia dance team also competed in two events — jazz and hip-hop. The dance team competed once in each event and their scores were combined to determine the overall champion. Southern Virginia won the overall award and swept the competition in both the jazz and hip-hop categories. This is a huge win for the Knights. Last year, they won the overall award, but a competitor snatched the hip-hop win from them. Misa Eller (’24) commented on the event: “This win felt so good! It was really cool to see the media team and others come out and support us. We’ve worked so hard and it feels so good that others are noticing our hard work.”
Like cheer, this has not been an easy season for the dance team. Many of the individuals have experienced burnout towards the end of their long and challenging season. Michaela LaSauce (’23) rolled her ankle while warming up for the jazz performance. Even with a sprained ankle, she performed her heart out and helped her team win. The dance team has finished their competitions this year. However, the team is putting on a closing performance on April 7 where they will feature their dances from the year (and some solo events). The team is also putting on a “So You Think You Can dance” fundraiser on April 28.
For more updates on the cheer and dance team, click here.
Dance and Cheer Sweep the Competition at CCA Nationals was originally published in The Herald on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.