VIRGINIA BEACH, VA -- After earning three straight first place finishes at competitions throughout the spring, the Daemen University cheerleading squad capped off a a highly successful 2024 season by taking home the 1st place finish, Division Championship and Grand Champions title at the Virginia Beach "Surf's Up" National Championship over the weekend. The Wildcats also received Best Choreography and received the Sportsmanship Award as well.
Competing against 23 teams in their division and 174 total teams at the championship weekend, the Wildcats scored a season-high 72 points in Saturday's competition and followed up with another season-high 73.9 points on Sunday. Daemen finished with a total of 187 points out of a possible 200 points over the weekend
"I was full of emotions was excited nervous and just eager to watch them perform. Once they nailed the pyramid, I had tears in my eyes with pure happiness for the unity of this team. It was a proud coach moment," head coach Brianna Achinger said of Sunday's performance. "Once they called Daemen for first place, I couldn't have been prouder, but then the team was also announced Division Champions and Grand Champions out of 23 teams that were competing in the session!"
Daemen was up against teams from gyms across the country such as Gym Quest RTC from Chicago, Ill.,
River Valley Cheer from Arkansas, Magic Cheer from New Jersey, Xplosion All-Stars from Jamestown, N.Y., Royalty, Gravity Cheer from Long Island, N.Y., Extreme Athletics, Lake Effect All-Stars from Oswego, N.Y., Upstate's Finest from Rochester, N.Y., Buffalo Envy All-Stars Elite and Pop Mexico.
The Wildcats earned the Sportsmanship Award this weekend after handing out good luck bows to children around the facility on Saturday and Sunday.
Daemen finished up the season winning first place in all four competitions this season.
Daemen University features the premier NCAA Division II athletics program in the Buffalo-Niagara region, sponsoring 17 intercollegiate teams. For the latest information on Daemen Athletics, follow the Wildcats via social media on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram, or sign up to receive customizable news alerts, e-mail newsletters and weekly schedule alerts.
