The Hardin-Simmons University cheer team has taken home a national championship title after competing for the first time in over 25 years.
“It’s definitely been a dream for a while. Even when I was in the program, my friends and I wanted to compete, but we never got the funding,” said the Hardin-Simmons cheer coach, Tiffany McMurray.
McMurray took over as the head cheerleading coach two years ago after being on the team herself while completing her undergrad and master’s programs at Hardin-Simmons.
“When I got hired, I was like, this dream for us, I know that the team wants it. I know that our seniors want it, and so it became my goal and what I’m going to work towards,” said McMurray.
Without any funding from the university to compete, Hardin-Simmons cheer team members had to fundraise to compete.
“We do a T-shirt sale at the beginning of every year,” said McMurray. “We would do merch sales in Moody, which is our student center, and sell to faculty, staff and students. And then we had sponsorships that we did at the end of the season.”
The team also hosted a variety of cheer camps and clinics, teaching other cheer teams’ choreography and hosting mock tryouts to help younger cheerleaders prep for middle school and high school cheer tryouts.
“We also do a mini camp every football season, which is for 12-year-olds and younger that get to come and cheer with the girls and learn material, and it’s always super fun,” said McMurray.
The cheer team also received generous donations from program alumni and other cheer supporters to help pay competition fees, travel expenses and meals for the competing girls.
“We have a really good support system in our alumni and our sponsors,” said McMurray.
Once funds were raised, the team was finally able to compete, and they entered the College Classic, a national collegiate cheer competition open to all college spirit programs, in Orlando, Florida.
“Leading up to it was terrifying, the nerves and the pressure,” said Emma Colna, a senior on the Hardin-Simmons cheer team.
“We all were like, we have to go there, and we have to prove something, and we have to prove to the school that we are a big deal,” Colna added.
The team competed April 11-12 in the Spirit Showdown All-Girls Game Day Cheer division.
“It’s kind of supposed to reflect what we would do at like a tailgate or even a pep rally kind of thing,” said McMurray. “So we did a chant, a cheer and then a band dance. And so it’s just to replicate crowd leading and what we would do on the sidelines to get the crowd involved.”
While it was the first-ever cheer competition the team had ever entered together, Colna said attitudes were positive, and the well-bonded team was determined to give it their all.
“There was no negativity,” said Colna. “Everyone was loving towards each other and encouraging. And if somebody was stressed, you would see someone kind of pull them to the side and talk, and like help them get through the nerves.”
“And I mean, our coach as well was obviously there. So she was a big part in helping with the nerves and calming the whole atmosphere,” Colna added.
At the end of the day, the Hardin-Simmons University cheer team walked away national champions in their division, beating teams from across the nation and setting a new standard for themselves as a competitive team.
“We went out and showed them like, we haven’t competed in 25 years, and this D3 school can do something,” said Colna.
This article originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: How Hardin-Simmons cheer team won nationals
Reporting by Lauren Dossey, Abilene Reporter-News / Abilene Reporter-News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
