On Saturday, January 24, the Raider cheer and dance teams kicked off competition season in impressive fashion at the Dordt Invite. Cheer edged out Doane for the top spot, with a score of 83.95 versus Doane’s 83.90. Dance finished in seventh place with 74.71 points, the highest score they have achieved in nearly three years. These results come just a week and a half after the Raider cheer team was announced as the number one pick in the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) Preseason Coaches Poll.
“I am extremely happy with how our competition on Saturday went,” junior cheerleader Hannah Feikema said. “Leading up to it, we were struggling with hitting skills at the end of the routine, but on Saturday, we were able to push through and hit our skills through the end. We also scored the highest we ever have at a first competition of the season, so we are definitely off to a great start.”
“Our competition yesterday was the best first performance we have ever had in my three years on the Raider competitive cheer team,” junior Allie Oberhelman said. “As of now, I think as the season goes on, we will continue to work on our timing and consistency of stunts and tumbling skills. We are hoping our group stunts will be even better for our next competition in two weeks.”
Dance shared a similar optimism.
“Yesterday’s competition was a great first showing of the routine we’ve been working so hard on,” sophomore dance member Bailey Ahlquist said. “We were really proud of our performance, especially earning our highest score compared to our program’s scores in the last two years, which was incredibly exciting.”
“I feel we had a solid first performance, setting us up for a high-potential season,” junior Ava Schmitz said. “A simple baseline goal is to always improve our scores from the last competition. We got 74 this past weekend, so we’ll shoot for over 75 next time.”
The early success did not come easy, as cheer is adjusting to a new rulebook and scoresheet and dance to a new judging outline. An additional, yet welcome, challenge is the many newcomers on both teams. Despite the changes, Raider cheer is confidently aiming to claim a third GPAC championship in a row in March, while dance looks to climb the conference rankings and put on their best performances in years.
Dance will compete at home next on February 5. Cheer will compete the following day in York, NE.
The Raiders perform their intricate routine before the big competition at Dordt.
