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The Bearcat Steppers dance team competed at the National Dance Association College National Championships in Daytona Beach, Florida, where they earned a national championship in the Division II Pom category. (Submitted photo)
A Northwest Missouri State University team has added another national championship trophy to its case.
The Bearcat Steppers dance team competed April 9-13 at the National Dance Association (NDA) College National Championships in Daytona Beach, Florida, and returned with a national championship in the Division II Pom category.
The Bearcat Steppers is Northwest’s dance team and performs at all home football and basketball games in addition to other campus and community events. (Photo by Lilly Cook/Northwest Missouri State University)
The Steppers also earned a second-place finish in Division II Jazz.
“It was the best feeling in the world,” said Aleah Jakobe, who was captain of the Bearcat Steppers and graduated this spring with a bachelor’s degree in applied health science with an exercise science emphasis. “All the hard work we put in all season, we came together as a team and went through all these hard practices just to put our best foot forward on stage. Then it went our direction and it was just the best feeling that it could have ever been.”
The national championships featured colleges and university dance teams from throughout the country competing in Division 1, Division II, Division III and Junior College classifications. Teams performed a variety of dance styles, including jazz, hip hop and pom.
The Bearcat Steppers is Northwest’s dance team and performs at all home football and basketball games in addition to other campus and community events. They are led by Taylor Merrill, an alumna of Northwest and the Bearcat Steppers who is completing her first year as head spirit coach at the University.
The Bearcat Steppers last earned a national championship in the Universal Dance Association’s Game Day competition in 2018.
