For more information, contact Debbie Warren, 620-792-9311.

April 1, 2010
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Story by: Linda Jerke

Barton Community College’s cheer squad will compete in the National Cheerleading Association Collegiate National Championship, and the College’s Dance Team, “Cougar Danz Force,” will compete in the National Dance Alliance Championship alongside the cheer competition April 7-11 in Daytona Beach, Fla. These events are the largest collegiate cheer and dance national championships in the world.

More than 240 colleges are registered to compete. Kansas teams participating in the event are Barton, Cowley and Butler community colleges, Benedictine and Pittsburgh State University. Barton will travel by bus to Daytona, usually a 29-hour trip without overnight stops.

Barton’s cheer and dance teams qualified to compete in the championships when they attended the NCA/NDA Collegiate Camp last July at the University of Kansas. An outstanding performance and placement through the camp evaluations qualified the cheer squad to receive a partial paid bid to compete in the championship.

This will be 24th year for the cheer squad to compete at nationals as one of the strongest junior college programs. The dance team, which finished third among junior colleges last year, will be competing for its 23rd year. The cheer squad made a fifth-place finish last year.

Nationals will have a preliminary competition from which half of the teams will advance to finals. A Challenge Cup will give one team a second chance to get to compete in finals. The cheer squad is required to present a 45-second crowd involvement along with its jam packed competitive routine. The dancers are required to execute three styles of dance in their high energy routine, which consists of jazz, pom and hip-hop.

The cheer team is coached by Debbie Warren, who has of 26 years of experience. She is assisted by Kacie Evans. The dance team is coached by Amanda Schnoebelen in her fourth year as Barton’s dance coach.

The following are members of Barton’s Cheer Squad and Dance Team:

Cheer Squad
Sigifredo Carrera, Great Bend
Steven Godfrey, Great Bend
Kevin Matus, Great Bend
Edgar Roman, Great Bend
Matthew Engstrom, Hoisington
Richard Sanders, Hoisington
Sarah Popoff, Manhattan
Suzy Mills, Newton
Wesley Young, Shawnee
Jon Burke, Wichita
Amie Neal, Wichita
Chad Shahankary, Wichita
Katie Lea Barger, Castle Rock, Colo.
Zach Hopkins, Castle Rock, Colo.
Taylor McDonald, Castle Rock, Colo.
Chelsea Reiffenberger, Littleton, Colo.
Luke O'Bryan, Longmont, Colo.
Kelsey McGuire, Pleaseant Hill, Iowa
Lindsey Kiesling, Urbandale, Iowa
Karissa Driskell, Independence, Mo.
Elijuan Vonnell Pearl, Kansas City, Mo.
David McCelland, Tahlequah, Okla.

Dance Team
Amanda Cargyle, Abilene
Chelsea Stonehouse, Clay Center
Jordyn Becker, Great Bend
Amber Goetz, Great Bend
Kristina Courville, Horton
Jenny Hayes, Russell
Karli Henning, Great Bend
Brooke Loreg, Great Bend
Molly Niedens, Great Bend
Emily Krouse, McPherson
Brooke Parter, Pratt
Melissa Writer, Roxbury
Natasha Homeier, Russell
Kac’Rae Patterson, Salina
Allie Smith, Wichita
Lauryn Franck, Knoxville, Iowa