McCook High alum part of national dance champions

KANSAS CITY, MO. – On the heels of the Morningside dance team claiming the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics national title, the NAIA has announced its 2022 All-America award and honorable mention recipients.

The Mustangs had five athletes receive honorable mention nods, including seniors Bryn Groff and McCook High grad Haley Potthoff, junior Madison Mahr, and sophomores Jocelyn Hendrix and Samantha Snyder.

Morningside has had 39 athletes receive All-America or Honorable Mention status, dating back to 2015, and has had at least one recipient every year since the NAIA began including Competitive Cheer and Dance as invitational sports.

Mustangs rewrite history, collect national title

YPSILANTI, MICH. – Making history may not have been the goal for the Mustangs as they took the floor in the 2022 National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Dance National Championship’s preliminary round, but the statement performance, as representatives of the NAIA described it, put Morningside atop the leaderboard and in a spot that no Mustangs had been before.

As it turns out, that was just an introduction to what the 2022 Morningside Dance with McCook 2018 grad Haley Potthoff.

Morningside’s route to the title was far from easy, as the northwest region champions were challenged both days of the national event.

Following performances in the preliminary round, which counts for 25% of the total score, the Mustangs led defending champion St. Ambrose by less than a quarter of a point, 91.93-91.77.

“We were happy that we were drawn to perform last, but we knew we needed to put on a good performance,” reflected coach Alisha Knowler.

The reigning champions were a persistent threat for Morningside in the final round, too, recording an overall score of 92.17, besting their championship total from the previous year.

It was the Mustangs, however, who were announced in the top spot and handed the championship trophy, with a total score of 92.31 points to win their historic national title.