SEWARD, Neb. – After a strong preliminary round, the College of Saint Mary competitive dance team settled for eighth on Friday in the GPAC Championships hosted by Concordia University at the Walz Human Performance Complex/Friedrich Arena.

In the prelims, CSM ranked sixth among the eight schools with a score of 73.73. In the finals later in the day, the Flames' score was 70.27. That computed to a total score of 71.135, which was just behind seventh-place Hastings College (71.665). Midland University won the event with a 91.91 average.

CSM Coach April Allen expressed pride in her squad.

"I am so incredibly proud of the efforts from my talented athletes today!'' she said. "We earned the highest score of the season in our preliminary round and beat out several teams heading into the finals. Unfortunately we had an injury mid-performance during the finals that resulted in deductions, placing us lower overall.

"The GPAC is the toughest conference in NAIA dance, and our team made a fantastic showing against teams who consistently place first or second at nationals. We are a young team with talent, so I am excited to see what these women can do moving forward!''

Sophomore Elizabeth Kenny echoed those thoughts.

"I'm so proud of our team this season and the dedication we've put in,'' Kenny said. "There's no one I'd rather go through the season with!''