UU Cheerleading Squad Earns 1st Place in Competition
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March 12, 2010
URBANA, Ohio (March 11, 2010) - The Urbana University Blue Knight Cheerleaders, an integral part of UU Spirit, the University, and the community, took first place at the US Spirit Cheer & Dance National Championship during the Arnold Sports Festival on Sunday, March 7th in Columbus, Ohio. This was the first time in school history that the cheerleaders have competed. The winning squad members are: Lindsay Creager, a sophomore from Mt. Vernon; Heather Day, a freshman from Plain City; Lindsay Eckurd, a freshman from Woodstock; Casie Kerr, a sophomore from Urbana; Ashley Leach, a freshman from West Liberty; Steffie Lybeck, a senior from Plain City; Liz Ray, a senior from new Madison; and Chelsea Twehues, a senior from Hilliard. One of the fans cheering for this squad was Dr. Stephen Jones, president of Urbana University. "Our cheerleading squad gave an inspirational performance, generating lots of inquiries from the younger participants. I was thrilled to be able to witness their routine and share in the celebration afterward. We're raising Urbana University's visibility one student and one event at a time!"
The team is coached by Melissa Closser, who took over the program in May 2009. Closser is a former Urbana University and Tiffin University cheerleader. "With this being my first year as a coach, I wasn't planning on entering the squad in a competition," Closser noted. "But after they blew me away with how much they improved over football season and how dedicated they were to the sport, I thought that we should give it a try. I am very happy that we did."
In addition to the regular weekly three two-hour practices and the men's basketball game schedule, the squad prepared for the competition with 6:00 - 9:00 a.m. practices every Saturday. They also got together outside of practice to work on the routine. "We performed two exhibitions to get us ready for the Arnold - one at UU's 1st Annual Cheerleading Competition and one at Cheer for the Cure competition held at Centerville High School," Closser said. "I never got a chance to compete as a college cheerleader and I wanted to give them the opportunity that I missed out on." With this initial success, Closser plans more competition opportunities for next year's squad.
Preparation for next year will begin with tryouts for the 2010-2011 Blue Knight cheerleading squad on Saturday, April 17, 2010 at the Warren G. Grimes Center. Visit http://sports.urbana.edu/index.php/spirit/cheerleading/ for more information.
The UU cheerleaders pride themselves in their goals to promote spirit and support for Urbana University, and to encourage positive crowd participation at Urbana University events. Additionally, the cheerleaders are involved with many activities on campus, including Homecoming, pep rallies, and UU Athletic support. The cheerleaders are known to be excellent ambassadors for the University.