Bulls cheer units solidify standing as best in the nation, join Kentucky as only programs to win three straight national titles
ORLANDO, FLA., JAN. 16, 2023 – For the third straight year, head coach Gillian Guadagnino’s USF Coed Cheer Team brought home a national championship as USF Coed Cheer claimed a third straight national title in the D1A Large Coed category and USF All Girl Cheer won the D1A Game Day title at the Universal Cheerleading Association (UCA) College Nationals at Walt Disney’s Wide World of Sports in Orlando, January 13-15.
Three seasons after claiming the program’s first-ever national championship in 2021, the USF Coed Cheer Team led by Guadagnino and assistant coaches Ronnie Patrick and Savannah Wright has established itself as the standard bearer in collegiate cheer with its third-straight championship. USF joined Kentucky as the only programs to win three straight national championships.
“I am so excited for our cheer program and our current team members, the majority of which are first year members and had not competed on the collegiate level before these championships,” Guadagnino said. “They worked extremely hard, performed beautifully and should be very proud.”
With assistance from volunteer coaches Adarius Payne and Noah Webb this year, the Bulls raised the championship trophy over teams from second-place Kentucky, third-place Ohio State, fourth-place UCF and fifth-place Oklahoma, while Alabama, Western Kentucky, Tennessee, Louisiana Lafayette, Liberty and Toledo finished six through 11. The Coed Team also claimed a bronze medal in the D1A Large Coed Game Day category, while the partner stunt couple also reached the finals.
Competing for the 2023 USF Coed Cheer team at nationals were: Ansley Topchik, Ashlyn Pinner, Brandon Gray, Bri Wilson, Chloe George, Dylan Price, Erica Scarborough, Evan Tollinchi, Gabe Oliveira, Gabe Rodriguez, Harly Sultuska, Joey Apisa, Jovon Penny, Lucas Campbell, Madison Holland, Ramsey Robinson, Sarah Wood, Tatum Reel, Thomas Crawford and Trent Hayden.
USF Coed renewed national competition in 2016 following a 13-year hiatus and progressively climbed up the leaderboard to become a dominant program, finishing 12th (2017), 8th (2018), 4th (2019), 5th (2020) and finally No. 1 in 2021, 2022 and again in 2023.
Meanwhile, USF’s All Girl Cheer Team, led by head coach Sandy Clarke and assistants Kelly Budnick, Leighton Clarke and Jessica Shefman, improved upon their fourth place showing in 2022 by winning a national championship in the Division IA Game Day competition. The Bulls bettered second-place Bowling Green, third-place Temple, fourth-place San Diego and fifth-place South Alabama.
About USF Athletics
USF Athletics currently sponsors 19 varsity men’s and women’s teams that compete in 11 different sports, 18 at the NCAA Division I level in the American Athletic Conference, which will expand to 21 teams with the recently announced additions of women’s lacrosse (2024-25) and women’s beach volleyball. The Bulls’ athletic program began in 1965 and completed its 55th season in 2020-21. Nearly 450 student-athletes train and compete in the athletic district located on the east end of the campus in Tampa, Fla. The Bulls have claimed 26 American Athletic Conference team titles since joining the conference in 2013, including seven trophies in the 2021 calendar year, and own 139 conference titles in department history. The Bulls have posted a combined annual grade-point average over 3.0 for more than seven straight years and have posted a program-record of 15 straight semesters with a combined GPA over 3.0 as of the spring of 2022. USF has had over 500 student-athletes earn their degree since 2016-17.
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