Photo by: www.Ottawabraves.com
Ottawa University's Cheer and Dance teams recently traveled to Daytona Beach, Florida, for the 2017 NCA/NDA Collegiate Cheerleading and Dance National Championships. This is the largest cheer and dance competition in the United States and it features over 200 teams. All of the action took place on Florida’s coast and lasted April 6-8.
The journey began when the teams performed in their sendoff on April 5, which was the night before flying out to Daytona Beach. During the sendoff, each team strutted their stuff for the Ottawa Braves family, showing what routines they would be performing during their big competition.
Bright and early on April 6, the teams were off to represent Ottawa.
“I was so excited for the competition! I didn’t realize how early we were waking up, to be honest. But, it did not bother me one bit,” freshman dancer Asianiah McFarland says.
Once it was time to compete, the cheer and dance team did not disappoint. “We were in the student affairs office live streaming both teams as they competed. It was intense and I was smiling during the performances because they were getting it,” former cheerleader Dylann Finnley says.
The results of this exciting national competition ended with the cheer team making their fifth straight appearance at the NCA National Championships and they finished ninth in the Small Co-ed Cheer Division II.
The dance team made their fourth straight trip to the NDA National Championships and finished third.
"I was extremely happy with our placement in this year's Cheer and Dance National Championships. Our goal was to perform the best we possibly could and we did just that," says sophomore dancer Jennifer Gee.