Mustang dance earns national championship bid

BALDWIN CITY, Kan. -- After a third-place finish at Saturday's NAIA Midwest Regional, the Mount Mercy competitive dance team learned on Sunday that they had earned an at-large bid to the NAIA Competitive Dance National Championship for the second year in a row.

There were five automatic qualifiers and seven at-large bids handed out this year. Automatic qualifiers were determined by regional champions, while at-large positions were awarded to the teams with the seven highest year-end scores that did not receive an automatic bid. St. Ambrose qualified as both the host and Northeast qualifier champion, allowing for the seventh at-large berth.

Regional champions were Baker (Midwest), Midland (Northwest), Oklahoma City (Southwest), Point Park (Southeast), and St. Ambrose (Northeast). At-large bids went to Aquinas, Grand View, Loyola, Missouri Baptist, Morningside, Mount Mercy, and Siena Heights. Competition begins on Friday, March 13, at Lee Lohman Arena in Davenport.

Mount Mercy's dance and cheer teams both competed at Saturday's NAIA Midwest Regional. The dance team placed third with an overall score of 77.91. Baker's winning score was 86.02, while runner-up Grand View scored 85.51. The Mustang cheer squad finished 10th with an overall score of 53.00. Missouri Valley took the team title with a mark of 77.90.