Mustangs claim 2022 GPAC dance championship

CRETE, NEB. – The Mustangs claimed their second straight Great Plains Athletic Conference title this year, taking the top spot through the preliminary and final rounds of the GPAC event and NAIA national qualifier held at Doane University's Haddix Center..  

"We felt good coming out of prelims on top, but knew that it still wasn't our best performance, and we really wanted to show them what we are capable of," said coach Alisha Knowler following the competition.

Morningside's preliminary round performance, which scored 87.57 points out of a possible 100, came in the middle of the qualifier pack, with tough competition to follow.

"Our goal was to be so good that they would score us high because we knew that we had good teams performing behind us," explained Knowler.  "Going last in finals, we just wanted to show how hard we've worked and improve upon our first performance."

Improve the Mustangs did, recording an 89.80, recording the best score for the round for the second time on the day.  Combined, Morningside's final score was 89.24.

She continued, "It meant a lot to see my team come together and put on such a good performance for finals.  It felt even better to see them come together as a team and a family."

This year's conference title marks the third time the Mustangs have taken the top spot in the six years that the GPAC has held the event.  

"It's important for us to always continue to be better and push to be the best, and that's what this team did this weekend," Knowler analyzed.  "We're not done yet, and there's always room to grow and improve for Nationals."

2022's competition also marks the sixth time that Morningside Dance has qualified for the NAIA championship, qualifying every year since the NAIA moved competitive cheer and dance to championship sports.

The NAIA National Cheer and Dance Championships return to Ypsilanti, Mich., March 11-12.   The full qualifying field will be announced at naia.org.