(Grand Rapids, MI) The Concordia cheer team began their post-season on Saturday at the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) Competitive Cheer Championship. Six WHAC teams met at Aquinas College for the championship event. The Cardinals posted two strong performances to take third place overall. Individually, Concordia also had 8 cheerleaders make All-WHAC teams.

The Cardinals recorded a score of 83.78 after the preliminary round. That put Concordia narrowly in second place 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 an 84.85 in the final round which brought their total to 84.59 on the day. Just narrowly ahead of the Cardinals in second place was Siena Heights with 84.67, while Lourdes came away victorious with 86.41.

The WHAC announced their all-conference selections at the event and 8 Cardinals took home awards. Molly Bartels, Celina Hinojosa, Bianca Hrynciw, Zion Moorman, and Eunique Robinson were all named to the first team. Treneice Coleman-Kelley, Charlotte Cook, and Hailey Hoyle were named to the second team as well.

The Cardinals were also recognized as the WHAC Regular Season Champions, after they took first place in all three WHAC comps this regular season.

The WHAC honors athletes through the All-Academic team for those student-athletes of sophomore academic status having at least a 3.25 cumulative GPA. Qualifying for the Cardinals this season were; Molly Bartels, Treneice Coleman-Kelley, Celina Hinojosa, Elissa Peterson, Jesus (Paulo) Pulido, and Eunique Robinson.

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. Molly Bartels 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 28^th and 29^th at Eastern Michigan's George Gervin GameAbove Center in Ypsilanti, Michigan.