DAYTONA, Fla. – The Thiel College cheer team is in first place Thursday after the first day of preliminaries at the National Cheerleaders Association (NCA) College Nationals in Daytona, Fla.
 
The Tomcats scored a 93.1 Thursday, besting Central College and Henderson University, ranking them first going into finals.
 
Thiel's next performance is Friday at 8:20 a.m. It is the first time that 11 members of the team have ever performed on the national stage.
 
Thiel received the highest score (93.86) and took first place in its division at Gannon University's Road to Daytona Showcase on March 26. The Tomcats debuted their NCA College Nationals routine for the first time at Gannon's Road to Daytona Showcase.
 
The Tomcats are coached by Randall Burnett M.A. '22.