April 12, 2011
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - The University of Missouri Cheerleaders and Truman competed this past weekend in the largest collegiate cheer and dance competition, sponsored by the National Cheerleaders Association in Daytona Beach, Florida.
The Mizzou Cheerleaders placed fifth in the 1A Small Coed division, behind Louisville, SMU, NC State and Maryland but finishing ahead of Big 12 rivals Oklahoma State and Colorado for a fifth place finish. In the Mascot competition, Truman the Tiger placed third out of 16 other collegiate mascots, all of which had to pre-qualify by a video entry and a top national ranking. Sammy the Bearcat, from Sam Houston State won the mascot competition.
The cheer squad at the meet was comprised of Megan Cunningham, Stacy Dilullo, Kristi Beckman, Kortney Doss, Paige Pauley, Karissa Driskell, Heather Hopkins, Cara Schubbe, Megan McCullick, Jaclyn Shaw, Marnie Matthews, Ashley Davidson, Molly Cody, Ashtynn Smith, Kelsey Sisco, Kelsey Mayabb, Josh Guyette, CJ Erskine, Andy Kimmel, Alex Johnson and alternates Lindsay Oncken and Seth Collivar.
The Truman Mascot Team was anchored by Frank Manda, who donned the Truman suit during the competition. Five other individuals on the mascot squad also deserve recognition. Those individuals are Sean Frankenbach, Josh Janisse, Barrett Smith, Nathan King and Brandon Mills as they helped at the competition and have dressed up a Truman at a variety of different events this year.
Tiger fans wishing to view the competition can watch the Cheer Squad at www.NationalSpirit.com and the competition will also air on Fox Sports Net later this month. The first show will air during the weekend of April 23-24 and the second show airs during the week of April 25. Fans are urged to check their local listing as the times slots will vary with the schedule of each FSN affiliate.