Southeastern Louisiana University dance and cheer teams take home national titles
By: Michala Torres
Tags: Dance, Nationals, Team, College, Cheer

Southeastern Louisiana University dance and cheer teams take home national titles Michala Torres Follow May 7 · 3 min read

(HAMMOND, La.) After months of blood, sweat and tears, Southeastern Louisiana University’s cheer and dance team both are national title holders after their recent virtual competition win.

“Oh my goodness, it still hasn’t really hit me. I could not fall asleep. It was probably one of the most shocking things that I have ever experienced. I really don’t even have many words to describe the feeling. It’s indescribable,” Lionette dance team member Haley Vicknair said.

The Lionettes are the 2021 UDA Virtual D1 Hip Hop National Champions and the Southeastern Louisiana University cheer team is the 2021 UCA Virtual D1 Open Co-ed Gameday Champions.

Normally, cheer and dance would be taking on Varsity Nationals in Walt Disney World where they would compete in a multi-day competition against schools from across the country. This year, due to COVID-19, a virtual competition option was also offered for teams that couldn’t risk travelling.

With the pandemic still in full effect, both teams’ coaches along with the university agreed that it would be best to compete in the virtual competition, rather than to compete in person.

“It has sucked not being able to go, but it has also been a blessing because we have gotten so much time to perfect our routine and re-record it as many times as needed,” junior cheer member Leigh Henderson said.

Preparing for nationals this year has been very different compared to years in the past due to the extra time that both teams were able to have to put together and perfect their routines, which has been both a good and a bad thing.

“It was so long. In the beginning we really didn’t even know if we were going to be able to compete so we have just been learning these routines since September. So we have been practicing and perfecting them for a very long time,” Vicknair said.

Not only is practicing the same routine for that long taxing physically, Henderson explained how important it was to stay in the right mindset and all remain on the same page.

Vicknair said that the team could see how bad each other wanted to win and that is what kept them going.

“One of our biggest things was ‘let’s do it for the girl next to us’ and I think that’s when we realized that it wasn’t just about winning, it was about winning for our team because we all knew how hard we worked,” Vicknair said.

On top of the longevity of the preparation process, COVID-19 restrictions added to the challenges that both teams faced throughout the season.

“Having to wear masks was a really big challenge of course but they were also kind’ve dangerous to wear when stunting and tumbling. I can’t tell you the amount of times the mask would end up over our eyes or get tangled in someone’s hands,” Henderson said.

Despite all of these challenges that were faced throughout preparing for this competition, both teams showed resilience which paid off as they both secured National titles.

“Our resilience is what got us this win. Just because we made everything work in how it needed to. We had some bad practices but we pushed through and because the season was so long, there were sometimes times when I couldn’t see the light at the end of the tunnel. But I am so proud of us not giving up and it paid off in the end,” Vicknair said.

Both teams are grateful for this experience and are excited to celebrate their accomplishments.

“Winning a national title is such a rush of emotions. Everything you felt during the season, the blood, sweat, and tears, and then you have the biggest sense of relief and happiness that you worked so hard to get that national title!” Henderson said.

Southeastern Louisiana University cheer and dance team join together for a picture after their Nationals showcase.