DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- The 2026 National Dance Alliance College Nationals concluded for Vanguard dance today, with the pom routine placing fourth and the jazz routine taking fifth.  Almost an entire school year of practice led to today's results, and their is a lot of pride to be shared in the team's achievement.

"The team has worked extremely hard leading up to the NDA Nationals this year," said Head Coach Madison Dimino.  "This being our second year in DII Pom and making our debut in DII Jazz, our main goal was to make it to the finals for both routines.  After achieving a placement in the finals, we really worked on tightening up the dances even more before we performed again.  In the end, Pom jumped up three points and one placement, finishing fourth.  Jazz scored two points higher in the finals and ended in fifth place.  I couldn't be more proud of this team and all their hard work and dedication.  Their commitment to the team and their faith sets them apart from a lot of other teams.  The growth this year was exponential, and I can't wait for more to come!"
 
The pom performance on Thursday concluded with VU netting an 84.2 out of 100, good for fifth out of the field, which took the top six programs to the finals.  Not too far ahead of the Lions was CSU San Marcos, and the Blue and Gold edged out the Cougars today by improving to an 87.6, just .1 ahead of the Cougars to leap into fourth.  Oklahoma Baptist placed third (89.5), Texas Woman's was second (91.2), and Northwest Missouri State won with a 93.3.
 
On the jazz side, the Blue and Gold qualified for the finals in sixth out of the eight teams that advanced with a score of 86.6.  Aiming to hop over UT at Dallas, Vanguard did just that today, increasing to an 88.6 to take fifth, while UTD came in at 87.8 in sixth.  Ahead of VU were CSUSM (90.7), Maryville (92.4), Davenport (94.1), and Valdosta State (94.7).

The event was also the final performance for seniors Harlie Martinez and Chloe McLeroy.