The IUS cheerleading team won its third-straight national championship at the Cheer Ltd. Open College Nationals in Myrtle Beach, S.C., on March 19.
The cheerleading team beat 18 other teams with a score of 130 out of 140 for the title in the All-Girl Medium Collegiate Division, outscoring Rend Lake College by 10 points.
IUS head cheerleading coach Kaelin Abbot said the cheerleading team has won nationals every year since the team began attending the open competition.
Open competition simply means the team does not have to qualify to compete.
Abbot said while there are many different national competitions, the size of the Cheer Ltd. competition is what makes the difference.
“It’s the same size schools,” she said. “The girls really like going there, and they like the teams we go up against.”
Lauren Becher, advertising senior, has been a member of the cheerleading team for two years and said she had a lot of emotions when it came to going back to nationals.
“It was nerve-wracking, intimidating and exciting,” she said. “People knew who we were because we had won the past two years. So, everyone was out to get us.”
According to the Cheer Ltd. website, each cheer team has two minutes and 30 seconds to perform the routine.
Abbot said this year was stressful because they had to make adjustments to the routine the day before the competition.
“They normally deliver a perfect routine,” Abbot said, “but this year we had to make some changes the night before so it was stressful. It ended up paying off really well for us.”
Becher said the changes did not go over well with the cheerleaders, but she said she agreed with the coach’s decision.
“I think I could speak for the whole squad, or at least most of the squad, that we weren’t very happy with the changes,” she said, “but our coaches know best. If we aren’t hitting it, might as well take it out and put something in that is going to hit.”
Becher said the season had its ups and downs, but she said it has helped relieve stress she felt with school.
“When I would go to practice and start tumbling or stunting around with the team, it would relieve so much stress,” she said. “Our season was definitely successful, and all the hard work paid off.”
By AMANDA
CHIAMULERA
Staff
alchiamu@umail.iu.edu
