MVNU Competitive Cheer to Start Season at Spring Arbor

MOUNT VERNON, Ohio. — The Mount Vernon Nazarene University cheer team, coached by Melissa Nowicki, is set to begin their 2024 campaign on Saturday, January 20 as they travel to Spring Arbor University.

After another year of growth, Nowicki has brought in nine new faces onto the competitive cheer team that will continue to help bolster her roster. Riley Shaw, Morgan Willis, Abigail Lengacher, Lilly Small, Chelsey Wiles, Kaitlin Kimball, Kierstyn Keeper, Naomi Kinne, and Cadence Brooks join the team.

The competitive cheer team has eight returners who will look to grow from their previous years. These returners include Faith Burns, Skyler Salsberry, Ali Smith, Samantha Wulff, Taylor Tyler, Lacey Greszler, Abby Schmetzer, and Abby Morris. These returners will look to grow and learn off one another to surpass their 2023 accomplishments with a successful new campaign.

"I am very excited to see how our team progresses through this season. This is our largest team in program history! We have seventeen athletes on our competitive cheer team and nine of them are freshmen," said coach Nowicki. "Some of our returners have also taken on new roles on the mat. All three of our flyers are upperclassmen, but only one of them was a flyer for us last year. Returning flyer Taylor Tyler is leading the way, and Abby Schmetzer and Skyler Salsberry have stepped up to the challenge of a new stunting position this year. In the past we have only had one flipping basket toss, and this year we have three who have executed the new skill: Taylor, Skyler, and Faith Burns. It has been great to see how our team has embraced all the new athletes, new positions, and trying new skills."

"We graduated significant contributors from last year's team, including Jordan Rowden," said Nowicki. "Jordan was selected as the Crossroads League and the NAIA National Cheerleader of the Year. We will miss him this season, but I am thrilled to see how athletes are stepping up in his absence. We are starting our season with competitions at two schools we have not been to before and I am excited for us to be going against some new teams. Our home competition this season will be on Friday, February 2 at 6:00pm. There will be free admission and we hope to see you there!"

MVNU will look to start the 2024 season strong at Spring Arbor tomorrow at 12:00pm.

Mount Vernon Nazarene University is a private, four-year, intentionally Christian teaching university for traditional age students, graduate students, and working adults. With a 327-acre main campus in Mount Vernon, Ohio, MVNU emphasizes academic excellence, spiritual growth, and service to community and church. MVNU offers an affordable education both in-seat and online to nearly 2,000 students from 25 states and 11 foreign countries.