Texas Tech Cheer takes home two NCA National Championships.

1,424 miles.

This is the distance between Lubbock, Texas and Daytona Beach, Florida. The distance that stood between the Texas Tech University Cheer teams and history. 

As it turns out, the miles did nothing to deny what these squads deem the inevitable.  

The Small CoEd and Large CoEd squads brought home not one, but two Advanced Division 1A National Cheerleaders Association Championships over the weekend in Daytona Beach.

This is the second consecutive year Texas Tech Head Cheer & Mascot Coach Bruce Bills’ Small CoEd squad has taken home the Division 1A title. 

“With last year’s win, we put a lot of pressure on ourselves to out do last year’s routine,” said Bills.

“We pushed the skills, drilled elements harder and I saw the team’s work ethic improve.”

Texas Tech put together a nearly flawless performance to deny North Carolina State for a second consecutive year as well. Fifth year team member Alley Teague credits 2024’s national championship and consistency in performance for the win.

“A team has never gone back-to-back before, so that was Small’s goal this year,” said Teague. “It was a push in our division, but we knew we could do it.”

Texas Tech Small CoEd finished with a score of 94.0167, a mere .0875 ahead of North Carolina State University.

Not to be outdone, Large CoEd celebrated their return to the top of the NCA world with their own national championship, the first one since 2019.

The squad found themselves leading by a slim margin over the University of Louisville entering the finals.

Spirit Program  Director Stephanie Rhode said she had a feeling this Texas Tech group was going to be a tough one to beat as they prepared throughout the season.

“I knew going into Nationals our teams had worked harder than they had ever worked before to achieve their goals of winning two national championships,” said Rhode. 

“Both teams had tremendous discipline, work ethic, toughness and commitment.”

When the final totals came in, Texas Tech dominated the field with zero deductions and a score of 96.9875, some two-and-a-half points ahead of second place Louisville and over five points ahead of fellow Big 12 rival Oklahoma State University.

For many who were on last year’s squad, this was everything they could ever imagine it would be.

“It was surreal,” said third year team member Antonio Esquivel. “We worked so hard from the start of August. We know what our common goal is especially after the tough loss last year. Everyone knew this team was the one to do it and we all had faith and trust in each other.” 

Last year’s second place finish left the squad hungry for the next step and opportunity to celebrate in the salty waters of the Atlantic Ocean.

“From day one of the tryouts, this squad had the drive, determination and right energy needed to get us back to the top. They attacked each practice with focus and grit to not only hit but be great at it. They challenged each other to push limits, learn new skills and did it all with the teamwork mentality of ‘if one fails, we all fail. When one succeeds, we all do,’” raved Bills.

With their first coming in 2017, this marks the third NCA Division 1A National Championship for Large CoEd.

“I could not possibly be prouder of the way these students came together as a group,” added Rhode.

“The way they fought for each other and the pride they had in representing Texas Tech was such a joy to behold. I watched them with tears in my eyes after each performance even before we knew the results. This is a special group.”