Northwestern State University’s cheerleaders and mascot, Vic the Demon, brought home four blockbusters including a gold medal at the 2023 UCA/UDA College Nationals Championship and the College World Cup Championship earlier last week in Orlando, Florida.
Meghan Bercegeay, of Gonzales, was among the squad members competing.
NSU Cheer and Vic the Demon won the gold medal in the University World Cup Championship in the coed game day division against teams from the United States, Canada and Mexico. Squads perform routines as if they were on the sidelines of their respective universities. The goal was to show the judges what it’s like at Turpin Stadium, a press release said. This division consisted of three game day elements: the fight song, situational sideline and timeout routine. Along with the gold medal in that division, NSU received a second trophy for highest score in all game day categories for the UWCC.
The squad finished fourth in the nation in the Open Coed Gameday division. The game day routine was used in this division and the University World Cup Championship.
Vic the Demon competed in the Open Mascot division and finished fifth in the nation. The purpose of this competition is to show the judges how brave a mascot can be. Mascots had to submit a crowd tape being interactive on their respective campus to be selected to make it to the final round of the competition. After they were chosen, they had to perform a 90-second skit.
Elise Vidrine, from Pierre Part, is captain of the squad.
The squad is coached by Amy Dodson Stepp and Tre Jackson, with Jennifer Honzell Thorton serving as support staff.
