EMCC cheer team makes school history with sixth-place national finish at UCA Championship in Orlando

ORLANDO, Fla. – East Mississippi Community College Athletics continues to make school history, as the EMCC cheerleading team became the first squad in the program's history to compete at the Universal Cheerleaders Association (UCA) College National Championship this past weekend in Orlando, Fla.

Guided by second-year head cheer coach Amy Thomas, the EMCC cheer squad made the most of the team's history-making appearance by earning a sixth-place national finish in the UCA's Open Coed Division Finals held Saturday night at the HP Field House within the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex.    

"I cannot express how proud I am of this group," Thomas said following her team's school-first cheer performance at UCA Nationals.  "They've worked extremely hard to earn this privilege and enjoy this moment.  They made all of the hard work worthwhile, and I'm so proud of all of them for pushing through and being dedicated to making school history and starting tradition here at EMCC."

Benefitting from a successful summer camp experience at the UCA College Camp held last July in Tuscaloosa, Ala., the EMCC cheer team's busy campaign continued through a rewarding second straight NJCAA national championship football season with the Lions this past fall.  Along with previewing their UCA Nationals routine in front of home crowds during East Mississippi basketball games played in Scooba over the past month, EMCC's cheer squad held two-a-day practice sessions around the recent holidays to prepare for their Orlando trip.       

"We'd like to congratulate Coach Amy Thomas and the entire EMCC cheerleading team for making school history by proudly representing East Mississippi Community College at this weekend's UCA Nationals in Orlando," said Mickey Stokes, Vice President of EMCC's Scooba campus/Director of Athletics.  "Coach Thomas and her dedicated squad continue to work extremely hard establishing EMCC's cheerleading tradition and we look forward to remaining competitive on the national scene for many years to come."             

Upon arriving at Walt Disney World via bus transportation last Thursday, the EMCC cheer team was able to experience much of the cheerleading competition as well as visit many of Disney's attractions in between final practice sessions for Saturday night's performance at the famed ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex.  As part of their total final score, the squad received a perfect 15 out of 15 score for its crowd tape as prepared in advance by EMCC's Assistant Director of Digital Media Matt Milner.

Singled out on the UCA's Twitter account for making "good use of signs and poms" during the team's performance, EMCC's cheer squad was one of seven schools to compete in the UCA's Open Coed Division Finals.  Out of Tuscaloosa, Shelton State Community College claimed its eighth consecutive national team championship.  Iowa Western earned runner-up team honors, followed by Jones County Junior College in third place and Wallace State CC in fourth.  Fellow Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges (MACJC) member Holmes Community College placed fifth, while Independence CC out of Kansas claimed seventh-place team honors.  

This year's 24-member EMCC cheerleading team consists of three returnees and 21 first-year members.  Leading this year's returning team members are co-captains Olivia Carpenter (Dutchtown, La.) and Hunter Griffin (Caledonia) along with Kailey Lavender (Caledonia).  First-year female members of the EMCC cheer team include: Hailey Bowie (Forest); Aly Chance (Caledonia); Dancy Clemons (Canton); Hannah Daugherty (Leroy, Ala.); Grace Douzat (West Lauderdale HS); Myia Evans (Lake); Lexi Harden (Oak Hill Academy); Jayde Hendry (South Jones HS); Shanae Hunt (New Hope HS); Logan Lambert (Leake Central HS); Addison Lowery (New Hope HS); Anna McKie (Lamar HS); Raven Necaise (Hancock HS); Kierra Robinson (Quitman); Attia Smith (Nanih Waiya HS); and Kayla Thomas (Noxubee County HS).  First-year male members of this year's squad are Nolin Collymore (St. Martin HS), Chance Garner (Ocean Springs), Nick Kosier (Northeast Lauderdale HS), Donald Smith (Billingsley, Ala.), and Cortez Young (West Point).