The Sacramento State Coed cheerleading team returned home on Jan. 19 from the National College Cheerleading Championships after finishing in third place in Division I competition.

-The Hornet squad entered the competition held at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Fla as the No. 1 ranked Division I team in the nation.

-The Hornets came up short in their quest for a title, finishing behind only Western Kentucky University and Morehead State University, also of Kentucky.

-For Morehead State, it was their third consecutive National Championship.

-The final results were a familiar feeling to the Hornets, who also came up just short of the National Championship last year finishing in second.

-Despite Morehead State’s back-to-back titles entering the competition, the Hornets and their newfound No. 1 ranking seemed to capture the interest of most in attendance.

-“When we came out and ran through our routines, everyone was watching,” sophomore Adam Carroll recalls. “We were the team to look at.”

-After the initial adrenaline rush from that spotlight, disappointment settled in after the Hornets found out they came up short of their goal.

-“It kind of hurts because we could have won, but hindsight is 20/20 I guess,” Ryan Kennedy said.

-Like gymnastics or figure skating, cheerleading takes hours and hours of meticulous practice and conditioning in preparation for just one moment.

-“Cheerleading is different from other sports because you only get one chance, one shot, and that’s it,” junior Mike Maslanik explained. “We feel like we had the best team, but it just didn’t happen.”

-But it wasn’t all disappointment.

-It was also an opportunity for Sacramento State to be seen on a national level. The Jan.16-18 competition is scheduled to be broadcast on ESPN in February.”While it was disappointing, it was also a really new fun experience,” freshman Kassie Cook said.

-The team admits it was frustrating to watch Morehead State take the title for a third consecutive season.

-“Morehead better watch out next year,” sophomore Alexa Miller said.The cheerleading squads, both women’s and coed teams, can be seen at basketball home games, along with the Extreme Dance team.