Members of the Linfield University cheer team travel to Florida next week to compete in the 2024 UCA & UDA College Cheerleading and Dance Team National Championship. The Wildcats are competing in the Open All Girl Game Day competition. The preliminary round performance takes place at 9:04 a.m. ET /6:04 a.m. PT Friday, Jan. 12. Teams qualifying for the semi-finals will be announced at 11 a.m. that day, with the competition continuing Friday afternoon. Finalists compete that night starting at 7:30 p.m. ET/4:30 p.m. PT. The full event is available via Varsity TV.
The Open All Girl Game Day competition includes 38 colleges from all levels, including NCAA Division I, II and III, as well as two-year colleges and NAIA schools. Linfield is the only team from Oregon competing in this division. Teams are evaluated on their ability to lead a crowd, motion techniques and execution of skills, among others.
“We perform the fight song, a situational sideline cheer and then a band dance timeout!” Samples said. “The routine is three-minutes long, and we never stop moving start to finish.”
The community is invited to wish the team well and watch a preview of their performance at a send-off event at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 9 in the Ad and Joan Rutschman Fieldhouse.
This marks the second time in program history that the team has participated in the national competition. The team made its inaugural appearance in 2022. That year, the Wildcats placed ninth in the Small Coed Game Day division.
“It feels amazing to be going back,” said first-year head coach Madesyn Samples. “The girls could not be more excited, and we cannot wait to show everyone how hard we have been working.”
On top of their normal practices and game day events, cheer team members have held an extra weekly practice for the competition since October. Daily practices began after Linfield’s winter break.
The team paid for the trip through multiple fundraisers throughout the year. Those interested in supporting future spirit squad activities can make a donation to the Linfield TopCat Club at linfieldtopcat.com.
Good luck to Coach Samples and team members Tatiana Briones, Grace Christiansen, Miki Dunham, Meadow Evenson, Kaeley Green, Deiana Gutwig, Taylor Longhorn, Taetum Lynn Kalani, Kayleen McMillan Dressel, McKenna Mills, Angela Serna, Shaelynn Silva and Georgia White-House!
