Dance Wins Second Consecutive Conference Championship, Cheer finishes Sixth
MARSHALL, Mo. – Winning their second straight Heart of America Conference Championship, the Baker dance team took first place on Saturday at the Championships, while the Baker cheer team performed well to take home sixth place.
The Baker dance team started the competition with a score of 89.7 in the prelims without any deductions, which put them in first place by more than three full points. Sitting in second place was Grand View with a score of 86.17 and third was Benedictine at 85.27.
Baker then put together another flawless performance with zero deductions and posted a score of 89.56 in the finals to combine for a total overall score of 89.48. This score beat seven other schools including Grand View who finished in second with a score of 87.84.
"I'm so proud of this team and the growth so far this season," head dance coach Lynsey Payne said. "We've continued to tweak and improve this routine each week and everyone has been very happy with the results. We had fun today and that's what make everything even more rewarding. This team knows how to be a team, enjoy each other, sing together, and pick each other up and they are just really fun to be around."
Alyssa Waller, Olivia Chrisman and Emma Jones all earned First Team All-Conference honors. Katelynn Knaussman, Wrenn Paden and Zach Bejarno earned second team honors, while Linda Shine earned honorable mention honors to round out the awards for the Wildcats.
On the cheer side, Baker put together a prelim score of 71.01, after a .75 deduction and sat in sixth place after the preliminary round. Despite a slightly larger deduction in the finals, the Wildcats still put together a strong routine and bettered their score to a 71.56.
Those scores combined for an overall score of 71.42 and earned a sixth-place finish. The Wildcats finished just behind Peru State who finished fifth with a score of 71.80.
"I'm so proud of this team and all they have accomplished in this first part of our competition season," head cheer coach Melissa Shipman said. "We made a goal to just keep improving week after week and that's what they did. Today was a great way for them to celebrate their growth over these past few weeks and ending with a season high score. Being there alongside our Conference Champion dance team gave us even more to celebrate. I can't wait to see what the rest of the season holds for them!"
The Baker cheer team will now prepare for the College Classic in Orlando, Fla., on April 7-8, while the Baker dance team is back in action in a week as they host the 2023 NAIA Southwest Regional inside the Collins Center on Sat., Feb. 25.
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