Concordia dance sets record, defeats the national champions
The Concordia dance team celebrates its Concordia Invite championship alongside the dance team
Photo credit: Kai Olbrich
By Kai Olbrich
Applause rained down on the Concordia dance team as it was announced the champions at the Concordia Cheer and Dance Invitational on Saturday.
The Bulldogs came out on top of a tight and talent-packed field of competition with lots of Great Plains Athletic Conference foes. Less than four points separated the top three teams, with Concordia taking first place with a school-record 93.33 points, 2025 National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics national champions Midland University in second with 92.16 points and Dordt University in third with 89.58.
The performance was themed after the Hunger Games book and movie series, with flame-styled sleeves and music featuring “The Hanging Tree.” The dancers held up the three-finger District 12 salute at the conclusion of the routine.
Coach Mandi Maser is proud of how hard her team worked to get to the win and believes the home crowd played a big role in the victory.
“We are really, really excited. Very proud of the girls. It really came down to, I think, just being here at home, being comfortable, having a lot of friends and family, alumni, all those people in the stands cheering for the girls to do their best, and they deserve it more than anybody,” Maser said. “They worked really, really hard and had a really good performance.”
Senior Taylor Larsen was overjoyed with the result and believes it sets them up well going forward in the season.
“I’m feeling over the moon,” Larsen said. “It is like a culmination of four years of just wanting that so bad. So it’s just crazy. Like, Midland is the reigning national champion, so I think we have a really good shot at GPAC. I’m really excited.”
The Bulldog dance squad wasn’t the only Concordia team to perform well at the competition. The competitive cheer team had its best result of the season. Prior to Saturday’s event, the cheer team hadn’t placed higher than seventh place in its previous three competitions.
That all changed, however, when the Bulldogs scored a 77.00, nearly 10 points higher than their next-best score. The score earned Concordia third place, just behind Mount Marty University and Northwestern College.
The Bulldog cheer and dance squads will be back in action on Feb. 13 for the Northwestern College Cheer & Dance Invitational. The competition will begin at 3 pm in Orange City, Iowa.
