The North Texas Cheerleaders (NTC) and North Texas Dancers (NTD) competed in the NCA & NDA Collegiate Cheer and Dance Championship April 5 - 7 in Daytona Beach, Florida. NCA & NDA Nationals is a two-day competition where collegiate cheer and dance programs from across the nation come together to face off for a national championship title. Training for this event is one of the main focuses of each program; each squad trains all year to prepare and create a roughly three-minute routine to help them bring home the national championship trophy.

The North Texas Dancers competed in Jazz Division 1A, which is an intense and cutthroat division. Months of extensive practices and hard work from all team members contributed to the squad’s success with their performance. This year was the first time for NTD to compete in seven years, and the team finished overall in 17th place.

“Competing in the NDA Collegiate Championship was exhilarating!” said Cailey Ursin, senior and captain of NTD. “Seeing all of the different teams from all over the country showcase what they have worked so hard on was so exciting. With it being our first year back in seven years, stepping on the stage with my team one last time was one of the best feelings and something that I will always cherish!”

It was a rebuilding year for NTD, and the team is even more committed to coming back next year and advancing to the finals to compete for a national championship title.

North Texas Cheer competed in Game Day Division I, which is a brand new division that NCA introduced this year. This division is designed to represent game day traditions, with emphasis on long-established sideline elements like the university’s fight song, band chant and crowd-leading material. For this new division, North Texas performed with cheerleaders, dancers, Scrappy and four members of the Green Brigade’s drumline to give the audience and judges a taste of what game day at North Texas is all about. After making drastic changes in the elements of their routine the night before finals, North Texas Cheer finished the competition in second place.

“Game Day for North Texas Cheer is exactly what we showcased in our routine,” said Skyla Meier, senior and captain for NTC. “Everything that we performed on the mat is everything we do on a Saturday in Apogee Stadium. Our main focus at North Texas is crowd-leading and game day style cheerleading, so when NCA announced this new Game Day Division, we knew this is where we needed to be. Coming back by three points in cheerleading is extremely difficult, so it was an amazing feeling to close the gap between second and first place. Although the end goal was to bring home the National Champion title, I could not be any more proud of the routine that North Texas left on the mat! This group of athletes showed the nation what being a part of the Mean Green is all about, and no title can beat that!”

UNT is proud of both teams’ accomplishments and their representation of the university.

North Texas Cheer Finals Routine

 

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Contact: Ray Willhoft, 940-565-2464, raymond.willhoft@unt.edu