Loretto, PA - The Saint Francis University Cheer and Dance Teams entered the NCA and NDA National Championships in Daytona Fla. together for the first time ever. 2024 marks the first time that both of the Red Flash Cheer and Dance have competed at NCA and NDA Nationals in the same year. The event is the largest collegiate spirit competition in the world. 

The first was preliminary round for the Pom and Jazz portion of dance. According to Head Coach John Anderson, Saint Francis was most confident in the Pom routine and were happy that their routine, which went first, gave a great impression to the judges.  As the Red Flash were called to the stage, they took their spots and started with the traditional "Red Flash" chant. 

The Red Flash were one of 12 teams that entered the Division I Pom competition, but not one of the seven that moved onto finals. The top three finishers were Stephen F. Austin, California Baptist and Elon.

Roughly three hours later, the Red Flash were back in the warm-up area for the Jazz division. Saint Francis were one of 20 teams to compete in the event, but did not advance to the finals. According to Anderson, the team performed well and hit their skills. Anderson said they gave it their all and worked diligently this year and the result is motivation to start earlier and train harder for next season.

Day two of the competition brought Red Flash Cheer to the outdoor mat. They competed in the Division I Advanced Small Coed portion of the event. For much of the Red Flash squad, it was their first time on a stage this large. Saint Francis placed 12th in the competition.

Day three was the finals for cheer. The score on the third day represents 75% of the total event score with the preliminary accounting for the remaining 25%. The Red Flash came back more confident and moved up one place to 11^th in finals. The top three finishers were Weber State, Kennesaw State and Central Arkansas.

According to Anderson, the takeaways for both teams from the national competition are to focus on themselves. Anderson said they cannot control what other teams are doing, but can control their attitude and their efforts. Anderson said he is proud of both cheer and dance for giving this competition their all and wants to thank assistant coaches Alice from Dance and Grace from Cheer for guiding their toung teams throughout the year and at Nationals.