After finishing just short of qualifying for the National Championship meet, The Pioneer competitive cheerleading team ended their season last weekend in Myrtle Beach competing in the Cheer Ltd. Nationals at Canam.

“It was definitely an unforgettable experience because our team has never done anything like that before,” sophomore Keera Frye said. “We got to compete at a national level against schools outside of the NAIA, so it was competition we have never even seen before.”

The Pioneers were just 33 points shy of meeting the qualifying standard for the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, and competed this past weekend to end the year on the national stage.

“We have decided to pursue competing at the national level at the Cheer Ltd. National Championship this year in order to help our cheer program to grow and to gain exposure to competing at the national level,” Head Coach Bettina Herold said.

According to Herold, the Cheer Ltd. Tournament hosts a number of schools in various athletic divisions which she hopes her team can learn from for the coming years of the program.

The competitive cheer team just wrapped up its second year as a varsity program, and the team walked away with five top-three finishes in competition this year. The team also claimed an event win against Siena Heights University last month in Adrian, Mich.

“Our team has been through a lot this season, and I’m proud of everything we have been able to accomplish despite losing some people,” Frye said. “As we lost people, we each stepped up and gained new skills and worked to come together to end the year on a successful note.”

The team was also set to host their first home competition earlier in the season in a meet against Lourdes University, but was canceled due to inclimate weather. The team was however still able to perform an exhibition routine in front of a home audience for the first time.

Herold has coached the team the past two years they have been recognized as a sport and will return next year.

“Bettina is an amazing coach and leader,” Frye said. “She puts so much into both the cheer and dance teams and is constantly thinking of new thing we can try and come together as a team to feed off each others skills.”

At the time of publication, results of the competition were yet to be posted. Check ppuglobe.com for the final results.