Pendergast and Wetteland Earn NAIA All-America Honors
By Chad Waller, Director of Athletics Communications and Media
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) has announced Tuesday the 2017 Competitive Cheer & Dance (CCD) All-America teams. To achieve NAIA All-America or Honorable Mention status, student-athletes participate in a try-out. Officials judge the athletes during the try-out and All-Americans are determined by the judges' scores. The CCD Coaches Association officers then confirm the list of scores and athletes.
The All-America teams are designated by "All-America" and "Honorable Mention" status. This is the first-ever championship season for the sports of Competitive Cheer & Dance.
Overall, 14 different institutions – nine in Competitive Cheer and five in Competitive Dance – earned All-America status. The following programs earned Honorable Mention status: Aquinas (Mich.), Central Methodist (Mo.), Grand View (Iowa), Hastings (Neb.), Midland (Neb.), Morningside (Iowa), Point Park (Pa.) and St. Ambrose (Iowa).
Oklahoma City led all institutions with eight combined All-America individual honors. Baker (Kan.) was second with four athletes tabbed as All-Americans. Three other squads – Martin Methodist (Tenn.), Midland and Saint Francis (Ind.) – each bring home three All-America individual accolades.
The 2017 NAIA National Championships are hosted by Oklahoma City University and will take place at the Abe Lemons Arena fromMarch 10-11. Dance competition begins at 4:30 p.m. CST on March 10 with the cheer routines to start at 6:45 p.m. Saturday's activities will commence at 10 a.m. with the awards ceremony scheduled for 2:25 p.m.
The 2017 season marks the first year the sport will conduct a NAIA National Championship. The NAIA is the only collegiate athletics association to offer a national championship in these two sports. Competitive Cheer and Dance is the first to earn national championship status within the NAIA in a span of 22 years.
For more information on the championships, click HERE.
2017 NAIA Competitive Cheer & Dance All-America Teams
Competitive Cheer | ||
Name | School | Honor |
Kim Dade | Concordia (Mich.) | All-American |
Ryan Baker | Concordia (Mich.) | All-American |
Jessica Richmond | Davenport (Mich.) | All-American |
Quinisa Grant | Lindenwood-Belleville (Ill.) | All-American |
Benjamin Sonnenberg | Lindenwood-Belleville (Ill.) | All-American |
Noelle Miller | Lourdes (Mich.) | All-American |
Yuta Kajisa | Martin Methodist (Tenn.) | All-American |
Jessie Horton | Martin Methodist (Tenn.) | All-American |
Keye Matthews | Martin Methodist (Tenn.) | All-American |
Melanie Kiser | Morningside (Iowa) | All-American |
Kayla Inlay | Morningside (Iowa) | All-American |
Alyson Gerde | Oklahoma City | All-American |
Maggie Hirsekorn | Oklahoma City | All-American |
Shelbi Crawford | Oklahoma City | All-American |
Haley Hill | Oklahoma City | All-American |
Taylor Glaspie | Oklahoma City | All-American |
Broderick McQuarters | Oklahoma City | All-American |
Kortney Ouellette | Siena Heights (Mich.) | All-American |
Kaitlyn Coffee | Saint Francis (Ind.) | All-American |
Brian Trahin | Saint Francis (Ind.) | All-American |
Carrie Ferguson | Saint Francis (Ind.) | All-American |
Emily Studt | St. Ambrose (Iowa) | Honorable Mention |
Alyssa Papan | St. Ambrose (Iowa) | Honorable Mention |
Competitive Dance | ||
Name | School | Honor |
Ali Alderman | Aquinas (Mich.) | All-American |
Lucy Dinsmore | Aquinas (Mich.) | Honorable Mention |
Mariah Fulton | Aquinas (Mich.) | Honorable Mention |
Kassidy Boldt | Aquinas (Mich.) | All-American |
Alyssa Monson | Baker (Kan.) | All-American |
McKenzie Kula | Baker (Kan.) | All-American |
Allie Howland | Baker (Kan.) | All-American |
Alison Prather | Baker (Kan.) | All-American |
Savanna Nault | Central Methodist (Mo.) | Honorable Mention |
Katherine Dempsey | Central Methodist (Mo.) | Honorable Mention |
Brittany Carlson | Grand View (Iowa) | Honorable Mention |
Kelsey Walker | Grand View (Iowa) | Honorable Mention |
Marissa Signor | Grand View (Iowa) | All-American |
Jessica Pottridge | Grand View (Iowa) | All-American |
Hastings (Neb.) | Honorable Mention | |
Hastings (Neb.) | Honorable Mention | |
Logan Deahn | Midland (Neb.) | All-American |
Deven Muhammad | Midland (Neb.) | All-American |
Rachael Lehr | Midland (Neb.) | All-American |
Ty Hecker | Midland (Neb.) | Honorable Mention |
Mikenah Rieken | Midland (Neb.) | Honorable Mention |
Kayla Inlay | Morningside (Iowa) | Honorable Mention |
Jenna Winkler | Morningside (Iowa) | Honorable Mention |
Miranda Shipley | Morningside (Iowa) | Honorable Mention |
Makenzi Fox | Oklahoma City | All-American |
Lauren Kysela | Oklahoma City | All-American |
Emily Kirsch | Point Park (Pa.) | All-American |
Darian Leighty | Point Park (Pa.) | Honorable Mention |
Deanna Harris | Point Park (Pa.) | Honorable Mention |
Anna Pranckus | St. Ambrose (Iowa) | Honorable Mention |
Kaci Greenleaf | St. Ambrose (Iowa) | Honorable Mention |
Hailey Broer | St. Ambrose (Iowa) | Honorable Mention |
Samantha O'Malley | St. Ambrose (Iowa) | Honorable Mention |
