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DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (April 12, 2026) – The Morgan State Cheer Bears capped off an exciting weekend with a fourth-place finish at the NCA National Championships, posting a score of 94.4491 in the Intermediate All Girl Division I finals at The Ocean Center in Daytona Beach, Florida.
After sitting in eighth place following the prelims, the Cheer Bears delivered a strong performance on finals day to vault into the Top 5, finishing fourth out of 31 teams. California Baptist won the title with a score of 96.4769, followed by Lindenwood (96.2824) and Stephen F. Austin (95.1806).
Morgan State was one of three HBCUs represented in the competition, joined by Alabama A&M (7th; 93.1944) and Tennessee State (9th; 92.2408).
MSU head coach
Theresa Gibson praised the team's resilience and ability to rise to the occasion under difficult circumstances.
"We are incredibly proud of the team's performance and resilience at NCA College Nationals this year," said the coaching staff. "Our goal is always to finish better than our last performance, and we did just that. After finishing eighth in 2025, moving into seventh place after Day 1 this year showed we had already met that objective. Finishing in the top five after finals was exactly the result we needed to cap what can be considered a highly successful season."
The Bears' finish was made even more impressive by the adversity they overcame leading into prelims. Following an unfortunate mishap the night before competition, Coach
Marquis Johnson quickly reworked the original routine. With four athletes needing to be removed from the mat to meet competition requirements, the team had to rapidly adjust and collaborate under intense time constraints.
Despite the last-minute changes, the Bears executed the revamped routine the following day and earned a place in the top 10 heading into finals. Using feedback from the judges' critiques, the squad made minor adjustments and delivered an inspired final performance with just 11 athletes on the mat, climbing all the way to fourth place.
Morgan State's fourth-place national finish is a testament to the team's resilience and championship mindset. Overcoming last-minute adversity and delivering one of the top performances in the nation, the Cheer Bears closed the 2026 season on a high note with their best finish at the NCA National Championships in recent years.
The memorable weekend concluded with a team dinner at Texas Roadhouse, providing a well-earned celebration for a squad that represented the university and the HBCU community with pride on the national stage. With momentum building and a top-five finish now secured, the future remains bright for head coach Theresa Gibson and the Morgan State Cheer program.
Head coach Theresa Gibson and the Competition Cheer Bears.
FOLLOW MORGAN STATE ATHLETICS IN CYBERSPACE
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• Visit
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ABOUT MORGAN
Morgan State University, founded in 1867, is a Carnegie-classified
high research (R2) institution offering nearly 140 academic programs leading to degrees from the baccalaureate to the doctorate. As Maryland's
Preeminent Public Urban Research University, and the only university to have its entire campus
designated as a National Treasure by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Morgan serves a multiethnic and multiracial student body and seeks to ensure that the doors of higher education are opened as wide as possible to as many as possible. For more information about Morgan State University, visit
www.morgan.edu.
