Missouri State’s Cheerleaders and Sugar Bears performed well at the
2018 UCA & UDA College Cheerleading and Dance Team National Championships here Saturday and Sunday, both coming home with sixth-place finishes in their respective events.
The Sugar Bears placed sixth in the Division I Pom competition. They advanced to the top eight with Saturday’s semifinal performance in the field of 15 teams. It was just the second year the squad has performed in the pom flight after finishing 10th a year ago.
Hofstra won the pom category for the fourth year in a row, followed by Cal State Fullerton, North Dakota State, St. Joseph’s, Stony Brook, MSU, Long Beach State, and Nebraska-Omaha in the final round.
The Sugar Bears also competed in the Division I Jazz flight, but did not advance to the finals.
After a year away from the UCA competition, the MSU Cheerleaders returned to nationals on a mission. The team returned to the finals for the 12th time in 13 years and tallied a sixth-place showing.
Morehead State defended its cheer crown for the third straight year, followed by Delaware, Tennessee Tech, Eastern Kentucky, Wichita State and MSU.
“Cheer coach Nikki Love-Adkins and I are so proud of the cheerleaders and Sugar Bears,” said Susan Brown, MSU coordinator of spirit squads. “Their hard work and dedication resulted in performances that represented Missouri State very well on the national stage.”
Video footage of the competition can be seen on www.varsity.com again this year. The top teams from nationals will be featured in the nationally-televised event highlight show which will air on CBS Sports Network later this spring.
The prestigious competition, which showcases the country’s best college cheerleaders, dance team performers and mascots, is in its 34th year.
