Copyright 2016; Wilmington University. All rights reserved. Photo by Tim Shaffer's sports photography class during the 2016 Homecoming celebration.
NEWARK, Del. - - The Wilmington University cheerleading team will be sending four partner stunt groups to the 2017 College Cheerleading & Dance Team National Championship this January, the most groups the team has qualified in program history.
The team will be vying for its sixth consecutive UCA Small Coed Division II National Championship on Saturday, January 14, but the cheering will begin the night before as the Wildcats boast four partner stunt groups; two coed partner stunt groups and two all-girl stunt groups.
The stunt group duo of freshman Wendy Mayerson and graduate student Matthew Henry-Marshall qualified sixth among the 26 entries, while freshmen duo Emily Szalkowski and Brandon Nunez grabbed the 16th and final spot of the 26 entries. The partners will compete against groups from the likes of North Carolina State, Louisville, Mississippi, Purdue, and Ohio State who all earned spots among the Top-16.
The Wildcats also placed two all-girl stunt groups in the mix, placing among the Top-21 of the 34 entries in the division. The group of sophomores Alyssa Haines and Alyssa Kalafut, junior Dominique Tee, and graduate student Corinne Carney placed 11th overall for the invitation. The group of freshman MaKayla Moreland, sophomores Ciana Perez and Maranda Moreland, and junior Kristen Basquill earned the 18th invitation to compete in the National Championship.
Wiley D. Wildcat narrowly missed an invitation to the Open Mascot National Championship finishing sixth while the committee took the Top-5.
The stunt groups will compete on Friday night on January 13 before the team looks for their sixth straight Small Coed Division II National Championship on Saturday, January 14 at the Wide World of Sports Complex in the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Fla.