MSU cheerleaders heading to nationals
Morehead State University’s coed and all-girl cheerleading squads will compete in the College National Cheerleading Championships, Jan. 13-16, in Orlando, Fla.
Both squads placed first in the country in the qualifying round, which consisted of a cheer video, as well as an 11/2-minute video that demonstrated the teams’ stunts, pyramids, basket tosses and tumbling.
The squads will participate in the Universal Cheerleaders Association-sponsored competition at Walt Disney’s Wide World of Sports.
This is a return trip for both groups. In the 2005 competition, both the co-ed and all-girl squads won, with the co-ed team winning its fourth consecutive national title and the all-girl squad winning its fifth overall national title.
This is the University’s 20th national title between the two squads. Overall, the all-girl team has taken the national title five times and the co-ed an unprecedented 15 times. No other college has accomplished that many cheerleading national championships, according to Tony Nash, spirit coordinator.
“We knew going into the qualification process that we had to step up even more than last year,” Nash said. “The talent level of both the all-girl and co-ed divisions is growing every year, so it just keeps getting more difficult. We are the defending national champions, so our expectation level from the inside as well as the outside is very high. We know that going in, so we work hard to maintain that level of excellence. The athletes must train harder and prepare more mentally everyday. Since both teams qualified first for the second year in a row, that puts a huge target on our back; everyone wants to knock us off the top. Our goal is to hit our routine and not worry about what other teams do. We don’t have the time to worry about them; we just focus on what we have to do.”
Members of the coed squad heading to nationals this year are:
Joe Arkansas, San Marcos, Calif.; Brian Babcock, Coeur d’Alene, Idaho.; Patrick Boyer, Simi Valley, Calif.; Clay Clark, Stafford, Va.; Molly DuChemin, West Alexandria, Ohio.; Alicia Gifford, West Farmington, Maine.; Brittany Kaczetow, Centereach, N.Y.;
Laurel Long, Chillicothe, Ohio.; Brien McColpin, Wichita, Kan.; Josh McCurdy, Meridian, Ind.; O’Shea Parker, Bowling Green; Robert Reynolds, Martin, Tenn.;
Mo Rodriguez, Escondido, Calif.; Billie Sue Roe, Appleton, Wis.; Kelsey Simpson, Lexington; Traci Smith, Phillipsburg, N.J.; Mark Spearman, New Bern, N.C.; and Jennifer Vilaboy, Ramona, Calif.
All-girl squad members heading to nationals this year are:
Kim Alderman, Morehead; Katie Axe, Fairdale; Brittany Brown, Sharpsville, Pa.; Lindsay Bryan, Catlettsburg; Morgan Carroll, Madison, Wis.; Crystal Courtney, Burke, Va.; Danielle Garone, North Massapequa, N.Y.; Crista Glover, Martin, Tenn.;
Brittany Grimes, Somerset; Marika Jones, East St. Louis, Ill.; Brandi Kratzer, Mt. Sterling; Amanda Lewis, Olive Hill; Mary Lindberg, Green Bay, Wis.; Suzanne Long, Richmond; Casey McCown, Cynthiana; Beth Millard, Kennewick, Wash.;
Nikki Miller, Bonnyman; Kristin Nason, San Diego, Calif.; Jennifer Orr, Knoxville, Tenn.; Leslie Pulley, Post Falls, Idaho.; Allyson Robertson, Ashland; Kasey Stephens, Lawrenceburg; and Lindsey Young, Spokane, Wash.
In addition to both teams placing first for taping, five individual groups placed in the 2006 UCA Collegiate National Partner Stunt Competition. The students and their rankings are:
- All-girl four division: Kim Alderman, Michelle Carbone, Crista Glover, and Casey McCown placed fourth; and Marika Jones, Beth Millard, Kristin Nason, and Ally Robertson placed ninth.
- Co-ed division: Brien McColpin and Jennifer Vilaboy tied for 10th, Brian Babcock and Alicia Gifford qualified in first place; and Joe Arkansas and Brittany Kaczetow tied for 15th.
Nash is in his second year as the head cheerleading coach for the University’s cheer squads. Brandon Armstrong of Morehead is the squad’s trainer.
Posted: 11/22/05
