The WSU Spirit and Cheer Squads made history this past weekend as they both made it to the finals for the second consecutive year at the Universal Cheerleaders Association (UCA) and Universal Dancers Association (UDA) College Cheerleading and Dance Team National Championships.

“This weekend the WSU Spirit Squad made history, with both the cheer and dance teams advancing to finals,” WSU Spirit Coordinator and Head Cheer Coach, Jordan Benedict said. “This is the first time this has happened in back-to-back years.”

The Crimson Girls had the best finish in program history, finishing fifth nationally in the Division 1A Jazz finals. This marks an improvement from last year’s impressive twelfth-place finish.

“Division 1A Jazz is the most competitive dance category at UDA Nationals,” Benedict said. “Every team is talented, unique and fierce, so to be placed in the top five amongst the greatest teams in the nation says so much about this team and how hard they have pushed all season long.”

The Cougars found success in both the dance and cheer divisions in the Game Day category, its inaugural year as a category of competition.

The Crimson Girls were extremely successful in the Game Day dance category, finishing third in the nation, only behind UNLV and Tennessee.

On the cheering side, WSU Cheer was apart of the Division 1A Coed category, where they also advanced to the finals before finishing fifteenth overall on the final day.

The cheer team also competed in the Cheer Division 1A Game Day category where they were able to pull out an impressive sixth place finish, making them the highest-ranked team from the Pac-12 in their division.

“I am so thrilled that this team was able to overcome so much adversity and prove that WSU Cheer is a finals team and national contender, especially with cheer competing in the most difficult division in the competition,” Benedict said.

Both teams now look to get back to Pullman and cheer on the Cougars as the cheer and dance teams prepare for another successful season next year.