Cheerleading Earns First National Championship
“Same thing, different day.”
That was the mantra for the SU cheerleading squad in its final weeks of the 2022-23 season, leading to the National Cheerleaders Association Collegiate Cheer Championship.
That “thing” was perfection. Team members practiced their routine time and time again until it was virtually flawless. On day one of the competition, SU earned a perfect score. On the second and final day, it received just one deduction, making the team’s two-day performance the strongest among the 12 in its division. The result: SU’s first cheerleading national championship.
“We felt good heading to Florida, but we didn’t truly feel prepared until after day one, when they hit the routine with no deductions,” said the team’s coach, Kristin Morris ’16.
SU was the final team to perform on day two, allowing Morris to watch the other teams’ performances first. While she saw some small mistakes, she knew Salisbury might take a repeat from day one to secure the title.
“We have to have a strong performance; there’s no in between,” said Morris of her thoughts heading into the final performance. “I told them, ‘Same thing, different day. If you come out and do the same thing as yesterday, you’ll be perfectly fine.’”