Liberty cheerleading team places 10th overall at UCA Cheerleading Nationals

The Liberty Flames cheerleading team took its talents to the Sunshine State Jan. 13-15, competing with the nation’s best at the 2023 Universal Cheerleading Association (UCA) & Universal Dance Association (UDA) College Nationals Championships in Orlando, Florida. 

In his eighth season as the leader of the program, Head Coach Nicholas Thomason was extremely proud of his team’s performance on the iconic “ESPN Wide World of Sports” stage.   

“They worked really hard towards this goal,” Thomason stated. “Not only do they work really hard, but I can see the enthusiasm and the drive. As a coach, (that’s) the best thing that I could want for my athletes.” 

The Liberty cheer squad placed 10th overall in the competition, beating out schools such as Toledo, Virginia Tech and James Madison. One of Thomason’s goals for the team is to be on-par with other teams across the nation, competing against the more well-known schools, or the Power 5 programs. 

“We’re basically judged head-to-head against other big-name schools … such as Ohio State, Alabama, University of Kentucky and Ole Miss,” Thomason said. 

Even when the Liberty Flames cheer team competes on one of the biggest stages in their sport, Thomason said that it’s not an easy road for his athletes. 

“Usually, our practices span between five to nine hours a day. … This season has been very difficult for us because the athletes had to give up most of their Christmas break … not getting their Christmas break, not getting to see friends and family, missing the first day of class –  there’s a lot of things that they give up and sacrifice just to put into this.” 

Outside of the national competitions, Thomason said that Liberty cheer has a lot of responsibilities in Flames Athletics. 

“Our responsibilities (are) making sure that we are there to support the football team, (and) the men’s and the women’s basketball teams,” Thomason said.

The mascot portion of the competition is a separate category that Thomason supervises. 

“It’s based on the character, so they usually do a skit, and they are judged on how well the character executes through props and situations, and so that’s how they teach us to train mascots … We have a team full of mascots, and the best way that we can use the skills and talents is that we have to identify the character of Sparky and then exemplifying that character in the terms of a skit,” Thomason said.

The Flames would end up finishing in 10th place in the mascot portion. As far as improvement goes, Thomason pointed out the great strides that senior Micah Mirly has made in particular during this year. 

“(Mirly) brings a spirit of encouragement, (and he) really helps to uplift, (to) help to make the entire experience better (and) embodies what it means to be a Liberty cheerleader – not only talented and hard-working, but he has a spirit of God about him,” Thomason said. 

While this is the only competition that the Flames cheer team will compete in this year, they will begin preparation early for next year’s competition in February 2024. 

Hughes is a sports reporter for the Liberty Champion. Follow him on Twitter