Members of the Linfield University cheer and stunt team will make university history this month when they head to Florida for the 2022 UCA & UDA College Cheerleading and Dance Team National Championship. This marks the first time Linfield’s cheer program has competed in the national competition.
Linfield is scheduled to perform in the semi-final competition at 1:46 p.m. ET Friday, Jan. 14. The finalists will compete that night starting at 7:30 p.m. ET, with winners being announced starting at 9:30 p.m. ET. The full event will be streamed on Varsity TV.
Taking the team’s show on the road is the next step in the team’s evolution, said head coach Carissa Collins.
The previous coach did a great job of raising the profile of the team in Oregon,” Collins said. “Heading to a national competition is the next logical step in the team’s legacy.”
Linfield’s team will compete in the small coed game day division of the cheer competition. The team will perform a situational routine, the Linfield fight song, a sideline chant – such as one used when the team is in the red zone – and a timeout routine. The challenge? They won’t know what order they will have to perform them in until an announcer calls them out.
“You have to be completely prepared, on the ball and ready for anything,” said Sofia Nelson ’22, team captain. “And, once you start, the performance must be clean and sharp.”
Competing at the national level requires technique, discipline, a heap of ingenuity to train during a pandemic and, finally, raise the funds needed to travel all the way across the country.
“The day we got back from winter break, we began practicing five or six nights a week,” Nelson said.
“It’s basically a second dose of daily doubles,” added McKenna Mills, co-captain of the Wildcat squad. “And then there’s the challenge of all the Division I teams that we’ll be competing against.”
In fact, the Wildcats will be the only cheer team from Oregon and the only Division III team on the competition floor.
A record-breaking football season is fueling the cheer and stunt team headed into the competition season.
“That energy we had throughout the season set us up to have success at nationals,” Mills said. “What we have to do now is bring the best of our game day presence to the mat.”
In addition to Nelson and Mills, Abram Nelson, Ashlyn McPherson, Brenna Mitchell, Grace Heimbigner, Jennifer Sandoval, Kylie Cecchini, Meadow Evenson, Taetum Lynn Kalani, Taylor Schneibel and Kira Sneddon are headed to Florida.
The team paid for the entire trip with independent fundraising. Those interested in supporting future cheer and stunt activities can make a donation to the Linfield TopCat Club at linfieldtopcat.com.
