Copyright 2015; Wilmington University. All rights reserved. Photo of Kristen Basquill at Hoopfest by Frank Stallworth.
NEWARK, Del. - - The Wilmington University cheerleading team had a pair of teams invited to participate in the 2016 UCA College Cheerleading National Championship Partner Stunt event, as one partner group and one all-girls group stunt earned a spot following video qualifying.
The partner duo of Ryan Hertz and Kristen Basquill earned the highest ever ranking following taping for qualifying, placing third overall among the 27 groups entered. The all-girl group of Corinne Carney, Alyssa, Haines, Alyssa Kalafut, and Dominique Tee also qualified, ranking 13th among the 23 groups qualifying.
Hertz and Basquill moved up the leaderboard following video qualifying after placing fifth overall in last year's national championship partner stunt event. The duo is one of 17 partner groups invited to participate during the national championship. The all-girl group is one of 16 teams invited to participate in the national championship.
Wiley D. Wildcat unfortunately missed the cutoff by one performance in the Open Mascot division, ranking sixth out of 12 participating mascots. The top five mascots in the Open division were invited to the national championship.
The 2016 UCA & UDA College Cheerleading and Dance Team National Championships will take place January 15-17 at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida.