The annual Heart of America Athletic Conference cheerleading and dance competition was held at MidAmerica Nazarene on Saturday, Feb. 22. Nine cheerleading and dance teams competed for the title with Missouri Valley hoisting the trophy while the Ravens finished in third.
History of the Heart
Out of the 13 teams, only three of them have been a part of the conference since its formation in 1971: Baker University, Missouri Valley College, and Graceland. These three squads have proved to be the most formidable in the storied history of the conference.
Down to Business
The order that the teams competed in was determined by the average of scores each team had going into conference during the regular season. The top three cheerleading teams going into conference were Missouri Valley College, Central Methodist College, and Graceland University.
After the preliminary round, Missouri Valley and Central Methodist were top of the leaderboard in first and second positions. However, Benedictine College, previously ranked 8th, secured the number three spot going into finals.
Each team competed one more time in the final round, giving each team the opportunity to improve their score. The final score is determined by taking 25% of the prelim round score and 75% of the final round score and averaging them out for a new and final score.
Four Time Champs
Missouri Valley placed first with a score of 78.65, Central Methodist placed second with a score of 73.86 and Benedictine College placed third with a score of 69.52. This year marks the fourth year that Missouri Valley has been crowned conference champions.
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