Published: January 15, 2007 07:14 pm         

MSU cheerleaders add to long list of titles

Coach Tony Nash will need to find two more spots in Morehead State’s ever-growing trophy case as the school’s cheerleading squads added another two national championship titles to their collection this past weekend at Walt Disney’s Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando, Fla. The results continued the tradition of MSU’s dominance as the winningest collegiate cheerleading program in the nation.

Morehead State’s co-ed squad won its sixth straight Division I national crown and its 17th overall and the all-girl team captured its sixth overall title in All-Girl I and the first since 2005 at the Universal Cheerleaders Association’s 2007 College Cheerleading and Dance Team Championships.

“We’ve won more championships than any other college, regardless of division, and that’s something we want to continue,” said Nash, who is in his third year at MSU. “We want to be known as the best.”

Nash’s all-girl team, which finished third last year, needed to make some last-minute lineup changes due to an injury to one of its performers during a demonstration event last weekend. It also forced him to alter his routine just days before the nationals.

“It involved a lot of long hours,” he said. “I had to change the routine a little bit. They’d been working on the routine for three months. We had just three days to shake everything around.”

Twenty individuals compete in the team events. Fortunately, the squad has a lot of depth.

“We were a demoralized team,” Nash said. “We just came back in the next day (after the injury) and I explained the situation to the team. They realized that we still had to go on, and I put pressure on others to fill her role. The person I put in, Kristin Mason, stepped up. She was originally a starter, but she had bruised ribs and missed a few days, but with the injury we had to put her back in.

“They’d overcome adversity before,” he added. “They were an emotional wreck coming down here. It was really special for them to win. Marta (Alvarez) was very important and well liked, so they wanted to win it for her. It was a large part of their motivation.”

Both the co-ed and all-girl squads were the top qualifiers for the national championships, which was based on a submitted skills video that included gymnastic routines, partner stunts, pyramids, basket tosses and team interaction with the crowd at sporting events.

The top seeds just added pressure for the squads to live up to expectations on the big stage.

“Both teams had placed first in video qualifications, so there was a lot of pressure,” Nash said. “(With all of the media coverage) a lot of people put pressure on us.”

However, the co-ed team is used to the pressure as a perennial favorite.

“It is a different mentality with them. They’ve been around a lot longer and have won nationals so many times,” said Nash. “They have a few leaders who know the tradition, who know what to do when we get down here.”

They lived up to their top billing and garnered some unexpected compliments.

“It has been incredible down here,” Nash said. “The president of the company said that we were the best team down here, no matter what division. It has just been unbelievable.”

Morehead State also had two groups qualify for the partner stunt event. The team of Brittany Kaczetow and Tony Crump tied for seventh. Nash made a decision to pull the other group of Jennifer Brennan and Brian Babcock, at the last minute to save them for the team competition.

“Our focus is the team,” he said. “If the individuals are going to affect the team competition, I make the decision to pull them.”

Nash has been pleased with the backing of the university and the community, and the response the teams have received since winning the two titles.

“MSU truly supports the cheerleaders,” he said. “There is no doubt that my cheerleaders are athletes. They are very talented and hard working individuals.”

The members of the co-ed team include: Joe Arkansas, Charlotte, N.C., junior; Brian Babcock, Sandpoint, Idaho, senior; Lynn Baggese, Sacramento, Calif., graduate student; Patrick Boyer, Simi Valley, Calif., junior; Jennifer Brennan, Louisville, senior; Leah Cann, Independence, freshman; Clay Clark, Stafford, Va., junior; David Clemmons, Westland, Mich., graduate student; Tony Crump, San Marcos, Calif., sophomore; Molly DuChemin, West Alexandria, Ohio, junior; Emily Eversole, Morehead, sophomore; Lauren Floyd, Parker, Colo., freshman; Kurt Gardner, Harvest, Ala., freshman; Brittany Kaczetow, Centereach, N.Y., sophomore; Kayley Kraft, San Antonio, Texas, freshman; Laurel Long, Chillicothe, Ohio, senior; Kelly Owens, Goshen, freshman; O'Shea Parker, Bowling Green, junior; Mo Rodriguez, Escondido, Calif., junior; Kasie Sage, Simi Valley, Calif., sophomore; David Schuch, Mt. Pleasant, Mich., senior; and Kelsey Simpson, Lexington, sophomore.

The all-girl team is composed of: Marta Alvarez, Culver City, Calif., sophomore; Brittany Brown, Sharpsville, Pa., junior; Morgan Carroll, Fitchburg, Wis., senior; Stefani Cook, Sacramento, Calif., freshman; Crystal Courtney, Burke, Calif., sophomore; Nicole DiSalvo, Plainview, N.Y., freshman; Sara Folwell, Flowery Branch, Ga., freshman; Danielle Garone, N. Massapequa, N.Y., sophomore; Brittany Grimes, Somerset, junior; Terresia High, Cambridge, Ohio, freshman; Marika Jones, East St. Louis, Ill., senior; Brandi Kratzer, Mt. Sterling, junior; Amanda Lewis, Olive Hill, junior; Chelsea Mauck, Crestview Hills, freshman; Casey McCown, Cynthiana, senior; Beth Millard, Kennewick, Wash., sophomore; Nikki Miller, Bonnyman, junior; Kristin Nason, San Diego, Calif., sophomore; Kirby Ogden, Anderson, Ill., junior; Jennifer Orr, Johnson City, Tenn., senior; Tabby Price, Olive Hill, freshman; Leslie Pulley, Post Falls, Idaho, sophomore; Kristi Randel, Orangevale, Calif., sophomore; Lindsey Rapp, Perkasie, Pa., sophomore; and Sara Wilson, Grand Junction, Colo., freshman.

Ryan Alderman of Morehead is the trainer for both teams.