INDIANOLA, Iowa – The competitive cheer and dance teams from the American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) took to the floor of Cowles Fieldhouse on the campus of Simpson College for the 2023 A-R-C Competitive Cheer and Dance Championships. This year’s overall dance conference champion is the Central College Dutch. The winner of the competitive cheer invitational is the Wartburg College Knights.
 
The A-R-C Competitive Dance Conference Champion is decided by an average score from the pom and jazz routines. Additionally, divisional winners are crowned in each of the three divisions: poms, jazz, and hip-hop. Earning the overall A-R-C Dance Conference Championship title, the Dutch earned a third-place finish in the poms division, garnering a score of 78.17 and a first-place finish in the jazz division, tallying a score of 76.83. The Nebraska Wesleyan Prairie Wolves claimed the divisional title in the pom division with a score of 80.17 and a second-place finish in the jazz division (71.83 points) to earn the overall runner-up. The Central Dutch also took the divisional crown in the hip-hop division, posting a score of 77.50.
 
The A-R-C Competitive Cheer Champion is decided by the score of the 2.5-minute routine. With less than the required minimum number of teams competing (5) in this event, the A-R-C Competitive Cheer competition was held as an invitational this year. The 2023 A-R-C Competitive Cheer Invitational Champion is the Wartburg College Knights. The Knights claimed the title as they posted a score of 70.97 for their 2.5-minute routine. In the 5-person group stunt division, Wartburg secured first and second place with their two groups posting scores of 38.00 and 33.50, respectively. In addition to their performances on the dance side, the Central Dutch claimed the divisional title in the game day category, scoring 81.20.
 
The All-Conference tryout for both cheer and dance was completed at the end of the competition. The All-Conference cheer competition had pre-determined individual skills and group stunt requirements to earn points. The All-Conference competition on the dance side had pre-determined skills including a turn combination the student-athletes performed. For the dance All-Conference tryout, the student-athletes have to garner at least 15 points to be considered honorable mention, 17.5 points to achieve second-team, and 20 points to achieve first-team All-Conference. On the cheer side, the student-athletes have to garner a total of 12 points to be considered honorable mention, 14 points for second-team, and 16 points for first-team All-Conference. For both cheer and dance, if an individual received an average score of 2.0 or below on any section of the scoresheet, the student-athlete will be removed from All-Conference consideration.
 

Competitive Cheer All-Conference
Second-Team
Name	Year	School	Score
Jenna Bachus	Sr.	Wartburg	15.13

 

Competitive Dance All-Conference
First-Team
Name	Year	School	Score
Jessie Pospisil	Fr.	Central	23.95
Kenna Kassel	Fr.	Buena Vista	21.75
Kami Sickels	Jr.	Central	21.75
Madi Witcig	So.	Nebraska Wesleyan	21.38
Second-Team
Libby Birdsell	So.	Buena Vista	19.70
Michaela Weber	Jr.	Luther	18.20
Reagan Brooks	So.	Wartburg	18.13

 

Cheer Results			Dance Results
2.5-Minute			Pom
School	Score		School	Score
1. Wartburg	70.97		1. Nebraska Wesleyan	80.17
2. Dubuque	59.48		2. Simpson	80.00
3. Simpson	36.70		3. Central	78.17
			4. Buena Vista	67.83
			5. Wartburg	64.83
			6. Coe	64.50
5-Person Group Stunt			Jazz
1. Wartburg (1)	38.00		1. Central	76.83
2. Wartburg (2)	33.50		2. Nebraska Wesleyan	71.83
3. Buena Vista (1)	26.27		3. Coe	62.00
4. Buena Vista (2)	25.23		4. Simpson	61.17
5. Buena Vista (3)	22.67		5. Buena Vista	57.17
			6. Wartburg	53.17
			EXHIBITION: Luther	51.33
Game Day			Hip-Hop
1. Central	81.20		1. Central	77.50
2. Nebraska Wesleyan	75.13		2. Simpson	69.00
3. Luther	59.17		3. Coe	65.50
			4. Nebraska Wesleyan	63.33
			5. Wartburg	60.67
			6. Buena Vista	57.00
			EXHIBITION: Luther	52.00