(Rochester, MI) The Concordia cheer team began their post-season on Saturday afternoon at the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) Competitive Cheer Championship. Eight WHAC teams met at Rochester University for the championship event. The Cardinals posted two strong performances to take first place overall and earn their fifth straight WHAC championship. The Cardinals also secured their spot at the NAIA Competitive Cheer National Championship as the WHAC Championship serves as an automatic qualifier for the NAIA.
Zion Moorman was named WHAC Cheerleader of the Year and Newcomer of the Year. Concordia also had 7 cheerleaders make All-WHAC teams.
"The team came in composed and prepared to defend their conference standing," said Head Coach Kate Edge. "I also want to give a huge shout out to (Head Assistant Coach) Shanitra Cheff. She has worked tirelessly to give this young team the coaching and skills they needed to succeed."
The Cardinals recorded a score of 94.05 after the preliminary round. That gave Concordia over a three-point lead over second place Aquinas going in to the final round, which is weighted more heavily in the final score for the event. The scoring system takes 25% of your preliminary score and 75% of the final round.
Concordia improved upon their preliminary score with a 94.90 in the final round which brought their total to 94.69 on the day. Behind the Cardinals in second place was Aquinas with 87.97 and Lourdes in third with 86.07.
The WHAC announced their all-conference selections at the event and 7 Cardinals took home awards. WHAC Cheerleader of the year and Newcomer of the year, Zion Moorman, was joined by Eunique Robinson, Celina Hinojosa, Treneice Coleman-Kelley, Zoe Genette, and Breanna Ray on the first team. Alexia Glaze was named to the second team as well.
The WHAC honors athletes through the All-Academic team for those student-athletes of junior academic status having at least a 3.25 cumulative GPA. Qualifying for the Cardinals this season were; Bianca Hrynciw, Elissa Peterson, Grace Hasley, Julia Hendrix, Mackenzie Thurman, and Tara Cicilian.
The WHAC prioritizes the NAIA's core values of respect, integrity, responsibility, sportsmanship, and servant leadership. In celebration of these core values the WHAC honors representatives from each sport that epitomize these core values and their respective institutions. Breanna Ray was named Concordia's recipient of the Champions of Character.
The Cardinals will now shift their focus to the NAIA Competitive Cheer National Championship. The event will be held on March 10th and 11th at Eastern Michigan's George Gervin GameAbove Center in Ypsilanti, Michigan.
FINAL RESULTS (Prelim, Final, Overall):
1. Concordia - 94.05, 94.9, 94.69
2. Aquinas - 88.58, 87.76, 87.97
3. Lourdes - 79.83, 88.15, 86.07
4. Rochester - 82.93, 82.73, 82.78
5. Siena Heights - 78.57, 82.08, 81.2
6. Madonna - 76.00, 77.23, 76.92
7. Point Park - 66.07, 66.43, 66.34
8. Brescia - 65.03, 64.10, 64.33
