Over the past five years, the Aquinas athletic department has continued its storied tradition of athletic success in the form of individual national championships, incredible postseason runs, WHAC championships, record-breaking performances, and a tremendous number of athletic and academic All-America honorees.
 
We wanted to provide our fans with an enjoyable look back at some of the best moments from all of our athletic programs since 2015. Over the next two months, we will highlight a few programs each week - 25 programs in total - and provide a reminder of why it's great to be an Aquinas Saint.

The Aquinas College competitive cheerleading had a breakthrough season in 2019, qualifying for the 2019 NAIA Competitive Cheerleading National Championship for the first time, and finishing with a 9th place performance.

The Saints started their postseason run at the WHAC Championships in the middle of February, finishing third with a score of 68.28. This was an improvement from their 4th place finish the year prior. At the conclusion of the event, two Saints earned All-WHAC honors, with Tren Bartrum earning 1st-Team All-WHAC honors and Amaya Morrow being named 2nd-Team All-WHAC. Bartrum would go on to earn NAIA All-American honors at the NAIA National Championships. Then-freshman Savannah Hause earned the WHAC Newcomer of the Year award.

Riding the momentum of their most successful finish in conference action, the Saints moved on to the NAIA Northeast Regional Qualifying Competition. Facing a very tough field comprised of some of the top squads in the NAIA, the Saints took 5th place in the 11 team field. The Saints posted a final score of 81.12 at the event, the highest score the Saints had ever received in program history to that point. The big performance by the Saints proved to be clutch, as it propelled them to an at-large bid to the NAIA Competitive Dance National Championships. At-large bids were given to the teams with the highest Year End Scores, a total comprised of weighted Regional and regular season scores. The Saints entered the regional competition on the outside looking in, but delivered when it mattered to earn a bid. 
  
The 12-team 2019 NAIA Competitive Cheer National Championships took place in Lee Lohman Arena on the campus of St. Ambrose University (Iowa) in early March. The Saints recorded a top-10 national finish in their first trip to the NAIA National Championship, finishing in 9th place. After posting a 66.70 in the preliminary round, the Saints improved their final round score to a 69.70. That gave the Saints a final total of 68.84 and improved them from 11th place after prelims to 9th-place in the final standings. 

Next Moment: Friday, September 18th  

Previous Moments: 
Women's Volleyball: Saints Capture First WHAC Title in 22 Years
Men's Cross Country: Aquinas Men Earn 2018 WHAC Championship 
Women's Soccer: Saints Women Pick Up First National Tournament Win
Women's Cross Country: Saints Win 2017 WHAC Championship for Fourth Straight Title
Men's Soccer: Tahlan's Buzzer Beater Stuns Trinity Christian
Esports: AQ Earns Rocket League National Runner-Up Finish