{"id":5699,"date":"2016-10-07T12:00:06","date_gmt":"2016-10-07T17:00:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/web.saumag.edu\/news\/?p=5699"},"modified":"2016-10-12T11:12:14","modified_gmt":"2016-10-12T16:12:14","slug":"sau-cheerleaders-need-help-compete-nationally","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/web.saumag.edu\/news\/2016\/sau-cheerleaders-need-help-compete-nationally\/","title":{"rendered":"SAU Cheerleaders need help to compete nationally"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"sau-cheer-at-pep-rally\"<\/a>For members of SAU\u2019s Competitive Cheer Squad, the chance to compete on a national stage next year in Daytona Beach, Fla., is a dream that has come true.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019d get big rings on our fingers,\u201d Elizabeth Mangus, captain, said of a win at Nationals, which will be held April 5-9. \u201cWe\u2019re ring-chasing \u2013 that\u2019s our hashtag.\u201d<\/p>\n

While the squad will concentrate in the short term on cheering the SAU Muleriders, preparing for Nationals \u2013 both in terms of creating new routines and raising funds for the trip \u2013 will not be far from their minds.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

They recently launched an online crowdfunding campaign at https:\/\/ignite.saumag.edu\/cheer<\/a> with a goal of $10,000. The campaign ends on Oct. 31, so they are encouraging possible donors to visit the page soon to find out more information and to give online.<\/p>\n

At Nationals, the team will compete in the Intermediate Division. \u201cIt\u2019s not the hardest stuff, it\u2019s not the easiest, it\u2019s right in the middle,\u201d Mangus said. \u201cWe will make it clean and make sure we hit everything in our routine.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a dream for any girl who ever wanted to be a cheerleader,\u201d Haley Mullin, an incoming freshman, said. \u201cYou want to grow up and do that yourself. I always watched it on TV. It\u2019s really cool.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s an experience like no other, going on that mat in front of thousands of people,\u201d Mangus said.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy mom, when she found out we\u2019re going, said, \u2018No way, y\u2019all are going to Daytona Beach to compete?\u2019\u201d said co-captain Nikki Miller. \u201cShe was so impressed that we buckled down and actually did it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Winning is the goal, said Makenna Thomas, also an incoming freshman. \u201cI am a very competitive person. This is my dream. We\u2019re all in.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"sau-cheer-flip-at-pep-rally\"<\/a>Success at NCA (National Cheerleaders Association) Cheer Camp in Conway earned the squad the opportunity to compete at Nationals. At camp, the squad received the NCA Spirit Award, and two freshmen \u2013 Makenna Thomas and Haley Mullin \u2013 were among only three campers invited to apply to join the NCA Staff next year. Camp was held July 28-29 at the University of Central Arkansas.<\/p>\n

At Daytona, the team will have 2 minutes and 30 seconds to demonstrate in a single routine \u201ceverything there is in cheer,\u201d Mangus said. \u201cAt camp, we had to tumble and get the crowd involved. It wasn\u2019t as big of a routine that we\u2019ll have to do at Nationals.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve always competed, and I\u2019m looking forward to Daytona. Cheer camp really made us realize what we are getting ourselves into, competing with other college teams,\u201d Mullin said.<\/p>\n

At camp, the team had to \u201cexcel in different areas,\u201d Mangus said. \u201cWe excelled in pyramids and stunts, and in Game Day routine, we killed that \u2013 it was really good.\u201d<\/p>\n

Prior to leaving for camp, the team members participated in a mini-camp at SAU. \u201cWe all really bonded,\u201d Mullin said.<\/p>\n

They practiced intensely. \u201cWe did three practices a day,\u201d Mangus said. \u201cWe prepared for more than we had to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

There are 14 cheerleaders on the competition team, coached by Lydia Lindsey, head coach, and Meredith Lawson, director of cheer operations. Mangus, a junior, said she gets a lot of satisfaction out of leading the squad.<\/p>\n

\"sau-competitive-cheer-16-17\"<\/a>\u201cI cheered for two years at Liberty-Eylau (Texarkana),\u201d Mangus said. \u201cI knew I was going to go to SAU since it was only about an hour away, and I wanted to get involved in cheerleading. I tried out for the cheer team, I made it, and it\u2019s been awesome. I am excited to get to cheer two more years.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have outdone ourselves this year,\u201d she said. \u201cWe haven\u2019t even really started. We\u2019ve got a great team.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mangus was chosen for the NCA Staff in her freshman year at SAU. \u201cWhen I entered, there were three senior cheerleaders, all on NCA Staff. They noticed my skills and I was encouraged to try out. I did a video with tumbling, stunts and a cheer, and then you hope that, months later, you\u2019ll get a big package in the mail. I did.\u201d<\/p>\n

She said she thinks that Mullin and Thomas, who were invited to apply to NCA Staff next year, will enjoy the experience. \u201cI think it would be a good summer job,\u201d Mullin said.<\/p>\n

Thomas, who is from Monroe, La., said she has been cheering since eighth grade at Ouachita Parish High School. \u201cI\u2019ve experienced going to NCA Nationals in Florida, and I had a good experience all four years,\u201d she said of cheering in high school. \u201cI\u2019m excited to get to go to Daytona Beach this year. It\u2019s on a college level, so it\u2019s going to be a lot more intense.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI like competing, I like showing what we have,\u201d Thomas said.<\/p>\n

Mullin comes to SAU from Smackover. \u201cI cheered for eight years, in high school and junior high, and two years on an all-star team. I went to national and state-level competitions in high school. My all-star cheer coach asked me to try out for SAU. I did a video tryout and got a message saying I was on the team.\u201d<\/p>\n

Miller is a native of Maud, Texas. \u201cI cheered for two years in junior high and four years in high school, and I was captain for two years,\u201d she said. \u201cI wanted to go to SAU because it was close, but when I came to tour, I just fell in love with it. It felt like home.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIn high school, I did every sport,\u201d Miller said. \u201cBasketball, track, powerlifting, anything I could. I was also in band. I realized cheer was where I should have been the whole time.\u201d<\/p>\n

All four cheerleaders credit much of their success to their coaching. \u201cThey are like our moms on campus, Mullin said. \u201cWe can go to them for anything.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe coaching is absolutely awesome,\u201d Mangus said. \u201cIt couldn\u2019t be better. They treat us like we are their own. We\u2019re a big family.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLydia is fun-loving and Meredith is very serious,\u201d Miller said \u201cIt\u2019s a good balance. If we\u2019re down, they push us to keep going. They are proud of us.\u201d<\/p>\n

The cheerleaders said they keep plenty of room in their schedule for academics.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur practice schedule involves school,\u201d Mangus said. \u201cStudy hall is mandatory, and that gives us time to get a lot done early. The professors are very flexible with any sport, even cheer, and if we have to be absent they are willing to let us catch up.\u201d<\/p>\n

The team members are thrilled about their prospects.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll practice our routine for Nationals until it is perfect,\u201d Mangus said. \u201cIt will have an easy beginning but will get harder toward the end, so we just have to push through the whole time.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can be playful and still push through practice and get stuff done,\u201d Miller said of the team.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re all willing to work really hard, and that\u2019s what makes us a good team,\u201d Mangus said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For members of SAU\u2019s Competitive Cheer Squad, the chance to compete on a national stage next year in Daytona Beach, Fla., is a dream that has come true. \u201cWe\u2019d get big rings on our fingers,\u201d Elizabeth Mangus, captain, said of a win at Nationals, which will be held April 5-9. \u201cWe\u2019re ring-chasing \u2013 that\u2019s our… Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":564,"featured_media":5701,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[92,16360,265,32641],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-5699","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-athletics","8":"category-development","9":"category-events","10":"category-featured-layout","11":"entry"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.saumag.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5699","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.saumag.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.saumag.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.saumag.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/564"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.saumag.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5699"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/web.saumag.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5699\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.saumag.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5701"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.saumag.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5699"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.saumag.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5699"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.saumag.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5699"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}