DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The Elmira College cheerleading program put together a stellar performance of its routine on Friday afternoon as the Soaring Eagles recorded a runner-up finish in the Advanced Small Coed Division III competition at the 2023 National Cheerleaders Association (NCA) College Nationals at the Band Shell in Daytona Beach, Florida.
Competing in the Advanced Small Coed Division against other five other NCAA Division III programs, Elmira recorded a performance score of 87.3426 in the preliminary round on Thursday evening. The Soaring Eagles were ranked fourth after the prelims with Montclair State University recording a performance score of 91.1296 to grab the lead heading into the finals.
The Soaring Eagles delivered an almost flawless routine on Friday evening and improved their performance score during the finals portion of the competition as judges delivered a score of 91.4722 to raise Elmira's event score to 90.4398. EC received a point reduction of just 0.75 after being deducted 4.25 points during prelims on Thursday.
Montclair State University captured first place in the division after recording a performance score of 93.1944 during the finals to bring its overall event score to 92.6782. Nichols College placed third with a final's performance score of 90.4815 and an overall event score of 90.1574.
The Soaring Eagles, who captured the program's third national championship last year and finished as the national runner-up in 2021, have placed in the top four every year since 2014.
Finals
| Rank |
Program Name |
Raw Score |
Deductions |
Performance Score |
Event Score |
| 1 |
Montclair State University |
84.1 |
0.25 |
93.1944 |
92.6782 |
| 2 |
Elmira College |
83.0 |
0.75 |
91.4722 |
90.4398 |
| 3 |
Nichols College |
81.4 |
0.00 |
90.4815 |
90.1574 |
| 4 |
Southern Virginia University |
80.8 |
0.75 |
89.0278 |
89.1088 |
| 5 |
New Paltz |
77.9 |
1.25 |
85.3796 |
84.7731 |
| 6 |
RIT |
79.1 |
2.25 |
85.6389 |
84.6829 |
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Prelims
| Rank |
Program Name |
Raw Score |
Deductions |
Performance Score |
| 1 |
Montclair State University |
83.3 |
1.5 |
91.1296 |
| 2 |
Southern Virginia University |
80.8 |
0.5 |
89.3519 |
| 3 |
Nichols College |
81.1 |
1.0 |
89.1852 |
| 4 |
Elmira College |
82.4 |
4.25 |
87.3426 |
| 5 |
New Paltz |
77.1 |
2.75 |
82.9537 |
| 6 |
RIT |
78.1 |
5.0 |
81.8148 |
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