WICHITA, Kan. - The Wichita State spirit squads traveled to Orlando, Fla., to take part in the UCA and UDA College Nationals on Jan. 12-16. During the weekend, the cheerleaders and dancers made history while competing in one of the largest and most prestigious cheerleading and dancing competitions in the country.

Prior to even leaving, four girls had to submit an unedited video highlighting stunts that they could execute flawlessly. That video qualified them as one of the top 20 groups in the nation. On Friday, January the 13th, Holle, Alexis, Marcy and Hannah made their historic appearance in the partner stunt competition. Never before had an All-girl group or team from WSU make an appearance at a national competition. They put together a one minute routine that showcased their strengths as a group and performed it in front of over 8,000 people at ESPN's Wide World of Sports Complex who were there as competitors and spectators. The group finished 15th out of 20 groups. They, of course, wanted to place better but were extremely proud to represent Shocker Nation as the first group to ever compete in this category.

Under the direction of Darcy Clark, the WSU dance team pushed its limits and competed in the D1 Pom category for the first time ever in the history of dance at WSU. On Saturday afternoon they performed in the semi-final round a pom routine that highlighted leaps, turns, ariels, and some eye catching choreography. The dance team did extremely well and performed their routine nearly flawlessly, and are proud of they work they did to make it to nationals and perform at the the J-Center in front of over 8,000 people. They finished behind Hofstra and St. Joseph, who have run the division for several years. Because of the work they have put in, they have not only become stronger performers for game days, but also become closer as a team.

The coed cheer team finished out the competition late Saturday night by finishing third in the D1 Coed Cheer Finals. Their routine was nearly flawless and they made history by receiving zero deductions. Never before has a cheer team representing WSU managed to hit with zero deductions in finals at UCA. As the team finished their routine you could see it in their faces and bodies that they were beyond thrilled to have completed this task put before them. They finished third behind Morehead and Delaware Universities. Other teams in the division were powerhouses like Sacramento State, Liberty University and Eastern Kentucky.

Attached are links to their routines. Due to copyright laws, they are not allowed to have music in these videos.

Coed: CLICK HERE

Dance: CLICK HERE

All-Girl Partner Stunt: CLICK HERE