LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) – After a successful weekend of defending national titles at the National Cheer Association College Nationals in Daytona Beach, Fla., both Texas Tech large coed and small coed were able to load both trophies onto their respective buses and enjoy a happy 21-hour bus ride back to Lubbock- especially after the large coed team defended their national title and small coed won for the third year in a row.
“This week has been so insanely busy but packed full of so many amazing memories. I can’t imagine doing it with any other program and school like representing the Double T for the past week and the past four years has been the most exciting thing and best thing I’ve done my entire life,” said Rylea Fields, who is a part of the small coed dynasty.
While her team edged out Kennesaw State 1.3292 points for its third-straight national crown, large coed topped Louisville by .5 for its second-consecutive title.
Third-straight for small coed, second-straight for large coed.(KCBD, Andrew Wood)
“Defending our national title was something that was done by us for the first time this year, going back-to-back in the D1A large co-ed division, so that meant a lot to us, being on a team able to do that,” said Harley Canoles, who is part of large coed. “It really just took having fun out there and being with each other as sister and brother and just being awesome and amazing with everyone out on that floor.”
“I would say the same as Harley,” said teammate Antonio Esquivel. “It was more just doing what we did last year and getting what we deserve. We were really focused on hitting zero and doing the best we could and having fun with all of our teammates. And I think that’s what led us to getting what we deserved”.
For Red Raider cheer, it was not just a straight trip to Florida and back. Their week started off with a “Wreck ‘Em Tour” which included stops throughout the country.
“This past week has been really inspiring to me as a senior on the team, going on the bus the whole entire week and getting off for every single performance and going out there and doing what we love and just facing all the adversity that we had during the season when it comes to injuries,” Canoles said. “People on and off the mat and just going out there and putting out cheerleading that we love to do.”
While Fields reflected on her and her team’s journey, she also said her faith plays a major role for her and her Texas Tech teammates- on both squads.
“We honestly, as a team, we give all glory to God. We start off our practice by praying and coming together, and I can’t imagine doing it with any other team, and I would think everyone else from my team would say the same thing,” she said.
Lubbock Christian University also competed, and finished runner-up in Intermediate Small Coed Division II and third place in Spirit Rally Division II.
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