Belleville, Ill. The Central Methodist University spirit squad took part in the 2016 NAIA Midwest Cheer/Dance Regional on Saturday afternoon at Lindenwood University in Belleville, Illinois. The Eagles finished in third place out of seven total schools.

"Today's competition was the first this season where we have had to compete twice in one day; onece in prelims and once in the finals," said CMU Spirit Squad head coach Terin Fuemmeler. "The team struggled a bit in prelims, and we certainly didn't perform to the best of our ability. With our prelim score going towards 25% of our final score, that certainly didn't do us any favors."
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Central Methodist took part in just the cheer and not the dance part of Saturday's Regionals. The Eagles scored a subtotal of 87.2 between the three judges. They had 0.5 points deducted from their final score, to give them a final of 85.35. That finish was less than two points behind Graceland University for second place, and about two points behind Martin Methodist University.

"The team came out and performed to near perfection in the finals," added Fuemmeler. "They absolutely redeemed themselves. I am proud of the way the team was able to come together, execute the routine, and that they left the floor after the finals feeling proud of what they did."
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Complete Results

"Exactly two points separated first place from our third place finish," added Fuemmeler. "It was close and the competition was intense. We are hopeful we scored high enough to be one of only 12 teams to move on to the NAIA National Invitational."
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If they qualified, the Spirit Squad will return to competition on March 11^th and 12^th, at the NAIA National Invitational hosted by St. Ambrose University in Davenport, Iowa.
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For more information about Central Methodist University athletics, visit�http://www.cmueagles.com. Follow CMU athletics on Facebook at�www.facebook.com/cmathletics�and on Twitter�twitter.com/cmueagles. � �
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