Euts Earn Second-Place Finishes at Inaugural Cheer Competition

The Eutectic Competitive Cheer team made history on Friday, travelling to Olathe, Kan., for the MidAmerica Nazarene University Duals. It was the inaugural UHSP cheer team's first competition.

Six teams were entered into the competition, each competing in a dual, followed by a tri-match.

The Eutectic team started off the night going head-to-head against host-team MidAmerica Nazarene. The MNU Pioneers won the dual competition against UHSP with a score of 83.95 to advance to the "Winners Tri" bracket, sending the UHSP team (62.00) to the "Consolation Tri."

In their second competition of the night, the Eutectics improved on their performance by nearly five points, finishing second in the bracket with a score of 66.80. They edged out Peru State University (Neb.) (66.05) and finished behind Ottawa University (Kan.)(80.00).

Head Coach Sean Garland said he couldn't be prouder of his Eutectic team.

After preparing a competition routine throughout last fall, the UHSP team lost several members from their roster at semester break, forcing the team to completely re-invent the routine in the four weeks before their first competition.

"This team pulled this together in just four weeks! It's pretty amazing!" raved Garland.

According to Garland, the Eutectics were the only team entered in the competition to have zero deductions in both performances.

"From the beginning, I've been telling our team that we are only competing with ourselves," said Garland. "Our goal was to beat our first performance score in the second round, and they went and raised our score by nearly five points!"

Without any previous competition experience, the Eutectics came into the event as the underdogs and quickly became a fan favorite.

"We felt like the 'Cinderella Team,'" said Garland. "We had huge support from the crowd and the judges also loved us."

UHSP cheer captain and flyer Cynthia Bailey said she and the team really enjoyed the experience.

"Being at competition for the first time was exciting and nerve wracking, but so fun," said Bailey. "I was so proud of my team and the performance we put on under so much pressure. It couldn't have gone better than it did. And making history for the school was so special."

With the first competitions under their belt, the Eutectics will compete again in two weeks at the Missouri Baptist University Spartan Showcase on Friday, Feb. 17, in St. Louis.