ORLANDO - Reiver cheer started the competition weekend out with a bang in the Large Coed Gameday division on Friday, taking out Miss Gulf Coast Community College to earn a spot in the finals Saturday evening.
Head Coach Raven said, "It was exciting to see our mascot on the national stage representing our college alongside the cheerleaders, while also showcasing a few of our traditions with pride." This was the first season Reiver cheer has competed in the Large Coed Gameday division, and our first-ever mascot debut on the national stage.
Saturday morning large coed started us off in the Open Coed division bright and early. They had a few individual skills and stunt bobbles giving them 1.75 in deductions, but overall, a great semifinals and team performance, earning them a spot in the finals on Sunday. Large coed headed into finals in 3rd place, sitting .85 behind Shelton State in 2nd & Jones Community College in 1st place. Next up our open small coed took the mat, hitting zero deductions in their semifinal performance. With room to improve in execution, small coed was sitting in 3rd place going into finals, sitting .9 behind Wallace State College in 2nd and Northwest Community College in 1st. Finishing up our traditional routines for Saturday were our Reiver ladies in the Open All-Girl division. Our Reivers fought hard to keep all skills in the air in the semifinals, which we are extremely proud of. They took 1.75 in deductions in individual skill and group stunt bobbles and were sitting in 3rd place going into finals behind Northwest Community College in 2nd and Pearl River Community College in 1st.
We finished up our Saturday evening with Large Coed Gameday finals, earning a 3rd place finish behind Washburn University of Topeka in 2nd and Northwest Community College in 1st. Head Coach Raven said, "We are very proud of the performance we put out in this division this season. We absolutely loved our choreography and bringing Becky Spataro's vision to life. The athletes were able to enhance their gameday skills, which will also help them in their future cheerleading endeavors on a sideline. I am grateful we were able to provide them with this opportunity."
Reiver Cheer was prepared and ready to head into another long day of cheerleading on Sunday. Starting us off Sunday morning was the Reivers in the Open All-girl division. Our Reivers fell short in the finals of their team goal; however, we also saw many highlights throughout the routine from specific individuals. The Reivers fell from 3rd place, ending the season in 8th place. We are very proud of our first year All Girl team and their official debut to the national stage. Starting out in a big division of 19 teams, they took out Fairleigh Dickinson University, Baker University, Union Commonwealth University, University of Mount Union, University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, Stevenson University, Roanoke College, Albright College, and Widener University in their first competitive season. Head Coach Raven, "We are beyond proud of the way these ladies carried themselves this season and how they represented the program. We are excited for the future of our all-girl program. These ladies have set the bar, and I am looking forward to continuing to grow and build alongside our returning members." Coach Sam said, "With adding a new team to our program, our all-girl cheer team was all about building confidence, trust, and teamwork from the ground up. The members on all girl brought so much personality and freshness to the program. They truly put this new team on the map for Iowa Western Community College and the future members to come."
Following our Reivers on finals day was our Open Small Coed crew. They showed up and showed out in finals, securing themselves in the top 3 in the nation behind Wallace State College in 2nd and Northwest Community College in 1st. Our Open Small Coed crew had a large division as well taking out Indian Hills Community College, Missouri Valley College, Warner University. Holmes Community College, Nichols College, Washburn University of Topeka, Farmingdale State College, Hinds Community College, Andrew College, Coastal Alabama Community College, Miss Golf Coast Community College, and Itawamba Community College. Coach Raven said "I couldn't be prouder of this group representing our small coed division this season. They fought hard over the last 3 months to find their groove as a squad and build the right type of confidence amongst each other. You can clearly see they never gave up and continued to trust the process. It's such an amazing feeling to know you truly left it all out on the mat. "Coach Kristin Kennedy said, "I'm so impressed with the talent, dedication, and passion I saw in the athletes on small coed this season. A true team that demonstrated how hard work always pays off."
Our Open Large Coed team finished our season in the national divisions. Coming out strong with confidence, they had a beautiful and engaging opening to their routine. They unfortunately had a mistake in their center middle 1-1-1 pyramid and were unable to execute the dismount correctly. Large coed carried on after the mistake and ended the routine on a very high note. Large coed was unable to make any gains in placement due to the center middle pyramid drop rounding out their competitive season in 3rd place behind Shelton State in 2nd place and Jones Community College in 1st. Head Coach Raven said "This division is extremely competitive and always close in score. We know we have to hit our routine to have a chance at a title in this division, and today just wasn't our day. I am proud of the way our athletes persevered and finished their routine with energy and pride."
On Sunday evening we finished our season with the World University Cup Championships in the State Farm Field House. Large Coed had a very challenging division taking on 2 DIA schools, University of Kentucky and Liberty University. With a hit routine and a great ending to our season, Large Coed was able to knock out Liberty University with a score of 85.6 earning them a 2nd place finish behind the University of Kentucky. Small Coed ended their season strong as well, earning themselves a back-to-back World Title taking out Nichols College and the University of Victoria with a score of 78.7. Our Reivers finished up our competition weekend in another big division in the World Cup Championship. They ended their season on a high note, hitting all of their team skills in their final performance. They secured a 5th place finish taking out Temple University, St, Johns University, Memorial University, Monmouth University, and Brock University. Coach Raven said "It has been an incredible weekend of cheerleading for our program. Many firsts for both the athletes and coaches. I am proud of our whole village and the work we put into this season. We were able to serve and provide opportunity to over 70 student athletes in our program and put our college on the map in new divisions. We are coming home with lots of pride and lots of hardware this season."
