Gem City Sports Network

Central State wins back-to-back SIAC Cheer Championships
BIRMINGHAM, Alabama – Central State University traveled to the SIAC Cheer Competition as talented competitors, and they’ll be heading back home to Wilberforce,
Ohio as the SIAC Co-Ed Cheer Champions.

“Winning last year, we emphasized being humble and focusing on getting job done again this year,” CSU cheer captain Ameer Fisher said. “We performed to the best of
our ability and it feels great to reclaim the title. Our future goals are to continue to build on our performances while getting better and better every year.”
Performing at the site of this week’s SIAC Basketball Tournament, CSU claimed back-to-back SIAC Cheer championships. The performance also marked CSU’s second
season of participating in competitive cheerleading.
“This is my fourth and final year. I am really proud of our team for continuing to improve and strive for greatness. To comeback and defend our title is a tremendous
accomplishment. All of the long practices and preparation really has paid off,” cheer co-captain Jailynn Brown said. “As a senior, I am really going to miss being a part of
this team and the family environment that we have created. Right now, I want to celebrate our championship and have a great week of cheering at the upcoming
tournament games.”
The CSU Dancers, known as the Dancing Belles, also performed as part of the conference’s Dance Expo event. The Belles were the final performance of the event and
received a standing ovation after a nearly five-minute routine showcasing the groups’ contemporary dance abilities.
2/28/2018 CSU cheerleaders win back-to-back SIAC Championships – Central State Marauder Athletics
http://www.maraudersports.com/news/2018/2/27/csu-auxiliary-corps-csu-cheerleaders-win-back-to-back-siac-championships.aspx?print=true 2/2
“It is a great experience for us. Most of the members of our team have a background in contemporary dance so we decided
to feature that style in our performance,” said dance captain Riaja Oliphant-Smallwood. “Our goal is to stand out and I
think we did that again with today’s performance. We hope our basketball teams will feed off the energy of our
performances and advance in the tournament.”
The Central State University Auxiliary Corps are directed by Sylvia G. Kelley. During her tenure as the program director,
the teams have claimed two SIAC Cheer Championships (2017, 2018) and an HBCU Cheer & Dance National
Championship (2003).
The CSU cheer and dance teams have
helped set the tone for the what hopes to
be deep postseason runs for Central State’s
men’s and women’s basketball teams. The
women begin tournament play on
Wednesday at 5:30 pm cst. The men will
play later on Wednesday at 7:45 pm cst.