April 10, 2003
Note* The Coed Division IA competition is scheduled to air nationally on CBS on Saturday, April 26th at 1:00 p.m. CST, followed by the Non-Division Teams nationally on Fox Sports Net, April 30 and May 14 at 3:00 in all time zones.
The University of Missouri Cheerleading Squad traveled to Daytona Beach, Fla., on April 3-4 to compete at the 2003 Cheer and Dance Collegiate Championships and made a great showing. The National Cheerleaders Association sponsored the competition. It is the largest cheer and dance collegiate competition with 196 schools competing during the two-day affair.
Both the Mizzou All-Girls and Coed squads competed in their respective divisions. The All-Girls squad is in the Division I level and Coed squad competed at the Division 1A level.
There were 14 squads that competed in the All-Girls Division with seven teams advancing to the prestigious final competition. The MU squad of 20 girls finished in 7th place. The University of Louisville won the division.
The Coed competition was comprised of 22 Division IA schools with Mizzou advancing to the finals in 11th place. However, the squad did receive one of the highest crowd leading scores during the preliminary competition, which carries over to the final day.
The Coed squad was the first squad to compete in the Division IA finals and they did a "flawless" job, according to Mizzou Cheerleading Coach Suzy Thompson. "They really set the standard out there and put on a terrific performance!" The squad remained in the winners circle for quite a while, finishing in 7th place, the highest ever for the University cheer squads!
The Division IA winner was the University of Louisville followed by the University of North Texas. Other Big 12 schools competing included Texas Tech, University of Oklahoma, University of Colorado and Oklahoma State University.
Former four-year MU cheerleader Anthony Best is the choreographer for both squads. He has served in that position for the past two years after he graduated in 2001.
"Both squads did a great job! I am so proud of the squad's accomplishments and work ethics, but I am even prouder of how the kids responded while in the winners circle," Thompson said. "They cheered on every competitor - they were even leading the cheers and encouraging the squad performing on the mat, fully aware that could the a squad that would beat them and knock them out of the winners circle."