By: Emilie Jenson 

Public Information Coordinator

The Iowa Central Cheer Squad recently returned home from one of its best showings at the NCA College National Championships in program history.

The Tritons were represented by two squads at the competition in Daytona, Florida- Intermediate Small Coed and Advanced Large Coed.

The Small Coed team finished second in a field of nine community colleges from across the nation.

The large CoEd finished third in one of the most competitive divisions at the competition, going up against Texas based squads from Navarro College and Trinity Valley Community College, whose unmatched rivalry was featured in the Netflix docuseries "Cheer," which aired from 2020-2022.

"Large Coed is one of the hardest divisions cheer has to offer," said Head Coach Amanda Murphy. "You can only grow outside of your comfort zone and that is why we made the change to the advanced division; we've stepped up our game and are making Iowa Central known. It is also the first year we've had a small intermediate team and want to make an impact on that division as well."

Going into an advanced division with just three schools, members of the Triton cheer squad knew the challenges they faced and worked hard to prove they were an advanced caliber group.

"This division is hard," said Hannah Grass, a nursing student who has been part of Iowa Central cheer for four years. "We just moved up a division last year, and we knew what we were getting into. Our squad is different, just to compete (in Advanced Large Coed) is an accomplishment. We are growing, and we go in knowing we might not get first place. Our biggest goal is to give a great performance and hopefully hit no deductions more than it is about the trophy."

That goal was accomplished on day two of competition when both squads hit the mat with zero deduction performances for the first time ever in the finals.

"Hitting zero is huge," said Assistant Cheer Coach Mitch Murphy. "In both teams' finals performances they hit everything, no drops, no falls, no mistakes. That was the first time ever (hitting zero) for both Iowa Central squads at Nationals."

For the cheerleaders, nationals were the culmination of nearly six months of work.

"We start first semester," said Grass. "We move into campus before the year even starts.  We begin with working the skills that we might have in the routine."

"We've been through a lot," said third year member Miah Rees. "You learn a routine, then you work it and rework it. Sometimes we had to work around injuries, but we learn to adapt, and it was all worth it."

"I've been involved in cheerleading for 17 years and being part of Iowa Central is the closest I have been to any team," said T'mara Johnson, a sophomore member of the cheer squad. "Our coaches push us and know that we have what it takes to succeed, and we've all become a family."

Upon returning home with their Nationals hardware, the Triton coaches said it is an honor to be among the top cheer squads in the United States.

"There were 343 teams competing," said Mitch Murphy. "Only 15 of those schools compete in Advanced Large Coed, and we finished among the upper half of those and that is incredible."