Good Things Happen On Friday The Thirteenth

Many people consider Friday the thirteenth as a day of bad luck.

That was not the case for SHSU spirit programs as both the Orange Pride (OP) Dance Team and the Co-Ed Quad won the national championship in the National Cheer Association/National Dance Association (NCA/NDA) Competition in Daytona Beach, Florida last Friday, April 13 while the All-Girl Squad placed fourth and Sammy the Bearkat Mascot placed seventh in their respective competition in Daytona Beach.

For the O.P. Dance Team, it was their third straight national championship and fifth overall, making head coach Sarah Pritchard the all-time winniest coach in the program history.

“It’s not something that you could really describe,” O.P. co-captain Hannah Shields said. “I didn’t order a senior ring because I wanted a third national championship ring and I accomplished that.”

It was the first national championship in the history of the Co-Ed Squad program.

What even more amazing is that it was their first time competing in the NCA/NDA competition this year after competing in the Universal Cheerleaders Association/Universal Dance Association (UCA/UDA) Competition, defeating seven-time national champion and arch-rival Stephen F. Austin (SFA) State University.

“It’s such a huge accomplishment for Sam Houston and in the cheer world,” Shields said. “Who walks into a competition in their first year and wins over a seven-time national champion in SFA? It was a crazy day.”

In the first year of competition at the Division I level, the All-Girl Squad placed fourth.

In reality, the Spirit Programs proved that Friday the thirteenth is not a bad day after all.