Cheer team finishes 6th at nationals

Mississippi Gulf Coast's Cheer team finished sixth at the UCA & UDA College Cheerleading and Dance Team National Championship on Saturday in Orlando, Fla., and the Perkettes dance team made it 3-for-3 qualifying for finals with their two semifinals performances.

"We did great today," Gulf Coast cheer coach Karlee Nobles said. "We did the hardest routine we've ever done, and we only had one deduction in two performances. They did great."

The Small Coed Division II category has greatly increased in size over the past three years, and the Bulldogs were going against six four-year schools in the eight-team finals. Drury University from Missouri won the championship.

The Perkettes competed in two categories in Saturday's semifinals, and they'll dance again Sunday in a pair of finals. They were in the Open Jazz "B" and Open Hip Hop categories.

The jazz finals begin at noon ET, and the hip hop finals will take place at 3:15 p.m. ET.

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