Cheer rallies, falls short in national qualifier

SIOUX CITY, IOWA – Morningside College cheerleading rolled out both the welcome mat as well as the cheer mat Saturday, Feb. 28, hosting the Northwest National Qualifier in Allee Gym. With an automatic trip to the national championship on the line, the teams of the GPAC entered into a two-round rematch of the conference championship that was held earlier this month.

In prelims, the Mustangs put together a clean routine, good for 67.2 points and putting them in third place headed into the re-ordered finals. The hosts would perform third-to-last, behind leader Midland and second place Doane, less than two points out of second place.

It was the warm ups for finals that would end up contributing to how the Mustangs' day would conclude and serve as a reminder of the level of difficulty of the sport. Just before they were scheduled to take the main mat, an integral member of the team suffered a setback that would keep her from performing, and without an available substitute, would prevent Morningside from reaching its highest potential score.

The Mustangs took the mat despite the obstacle, and threw down a routine that they could be proud of, scoring 64.3 points, the fifth highest score of the round despite the absence.

Unfortunately, the final routine wasn't enough to push Morningside up in the standings, as it slipped to fourth place with a total score of 65.03 points. Hastings took third with 65.95 points, Doane was second with 68.85, and Midland took the qualifying spot with a score of 84.95 points. Morningside did improve on its placing, moving up from fifth place the last time this field was assembled

Dakota Van Hauen reflected on how his Mustangs performed following the competition.

"I couldn't be more proud of the girls today, especially the way that they came back to life after learning that we couldn't perform as planned. They rallied around one another and ended the day with a routine that they could have no doubt that they each gave their all. We had two zero-deduction routines today, which in itself is something to be proud of. We have, and will continue, to grow as a family and as a program."