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It was Northwest Missouri State's turn to soak in the cheers rather than shout them out.
After winning its second national championship in the last three years, the Bearcat cheerleading squad was greeted on campus Monday afternoon by a throng of roughly 50 people there to congratulate them on their achievement.
Administrators, students and fans held up signs in support of the team and gave them a rousing ovation on their way off the bus.
The Bearcats emerged from their all-day venture back from Orlando, Fla, with the Division II national championship trophy in hand.
Seeded third, Northwest Missouri State leaped over two teams, including eight-time champion West Georgia, to win the title.
"This is redemption after last year when we finished third," said Northwest Missouri State cheerleading coach Jason Sack. "This is probably sweeter than back-to-back for us because we went into this competition seeded third, climbed two spots and beat out an eight-time national champion that's been there and is a dynasty. Now, we've established ourself as a dynasty ourself."
Out of the 30 cheerleaders on the squad, 16 of them competed at nationals, including seven that were part of the 2010 national championship team.
Teams were judged based on their music routine, cheer routine and crowd score. The crowd score is based on a 15-minute video clip submitted that includes highlights from routines at football, volleyball and basketball games throughout the year.
Northwest had its best showing in the cheer routine and finished with a rating six points higher than in 2010.
"That ranking says a lot about our kids," said Sack.
At the conclusion of the weekend competition Saturday, the UCA judges read off the top 10 teams starting with No. 10.
Once No. 2 went by without Northwest's name being called, the Bearcats celebrated in grand fashion.
"They really just lost it," said Sack. "There were tears and jumping around. It's kind of funny, Reed (Iacrella) and Taylor (Iacrella) are brothers. Reed went to hug his brother and gave his brother a blood nose."
Now with two national titles in hand, Northwest is sure to receive another big boost nationally in terms of exposure.
That should allow Northwest to continue competing for national titles in the years to come.
"The fact that we established ourself as a dynasty that can put multiple national championships together, this is really going to help recruiting and get kids from all over the country that want to go to school," said Sack.
It was Northwest Missouri State's turn to soak in the cheers rather than shout them out.
After winning its second national championship in the last three years, the Bearcat cheerleading squad was greeted on campus Monday afternoon by a throng of roughly 50 people there to congratulate them on their achievement.
Administrators, students and fans held up signs in support of the team and gave them a rousing ovation on their way off the bus.
The Bearcats emerged from their all-day venture back from Orlando, Fla, with the Division II national championship trophy in hand.
Seeded third, Northwest Missouri State leaped over two teams, including eight-time champion West Georgia, to win the title.
"This is redemption after last year when we finished third," said Northwest Missouri State cheerleading coach Jason Sack. "This is probably sweeter than back-to-back for us because we went into this competition seeded third, climbed two spots and beat out an eight-time national champion that's been there and is a dynasty. Now, we've established ourself as a dynasty ourself."
Out of the 30 cheerleaders on the squad, 16 of them competed at nationals, including seven that were part of the 2010 national championship team.
Teams were judged based on their music routine, cheer routine and crowd score. The crowd score is based on a 15-minute video clip submitted that includes highlights from routines at football, volleyball and basketball games throughout the year.
Northwest had its best showing in the cheer routine and finished with a rating six points higher than in 2010.
"That ranking says a lot about our kids," said Sack.
At the conclusion of the weekend competition Saturday, the UCA judges read off the top 10 teams starting with No. 10.
Once No. 2 went by without Northwest's name being called, the Bearcats celebrated in grand fashion.
"They really just lost it," said Sack. "There were tears and jumping around. It's kind of funny, Reed (Iacrella) and Taylor (Iacrella) are brothers. Reed went to hug his brother and gave his brother a blood nose."
Now with two national titles in hand, Northwest is sure to receive another big boost nationally in terms of exposure.
That should allow Northwest to continue competing for national titles in the years to come.
"The fact that we established ourself as a dynasty that can put multiple national championships together, this is really going to help recruiting and get kids from all over the country that want to go to school," said Sack.
