DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Returning to the Daytona Beach Bandshell stage for the first time since taking home the NCA College Nationals Advanced Small Coed title in 2023, the Missouri Baptist University competitive cheer team closed out another successful season finished seventh overall in a much deeper field this year.
The 2024 NAIA Advanced Small Coed field was 11 teams deep, including five programs that sent teams to the NAIA Competitive Dance National Championships – Oklahoma City (3
rd), Dickinson State (5
th), Cumberlands (10
th), Tennessee Southern (11
th), and MidAmerica Nazarene (15
th).
In prelims on Friday (April 12), the Spartans posted a score of 78.90 with 1.50 in deductions. With the preliminary round counting for 25% of the total score, MoBap carried over 19.35 points into finals and ranked seventh out of the 11 teams.
There wasn't much change from Day One to Day Two in the team standings as the Spartans remained in the No. 7 spot. Head coach
Andrea Robb's squad improved the routine for Day Two, scoring 1.06 points higher (79.9667) while cutting the deductions in half to (0.75). MBU's combined score for the two-day event was 78.7625.
Competing on the national and iconic Bandshell stage for the Crew from the Lou were seniors
Elaina Camerlynck,
Kayla Martinez,
Dalton Mesey,
Sophia Welch, and
Kelly Wright, juniors
Cylin Akins,
Joey Barker,
Kiley Roth, sophomores
Vashti Altheide, and
Emily Vallat, and freshmen
Avery Bartok and
Isabella Martinez.
