The UTSA cheerleading squad will leave Wednesday for the national competition in Daytona Beach, Florida. UTSA will compete in the Intermediate Co-Ed division.

    In 2004, the Runners placed 5th, and last year they placed 12th. Head Coach Melissa Rodriguez is confident that the Runners will have a great showing this year.

    "We have to have some major tragedy not to finish in the top three," Rodriguez said.

    While the team seems confident, Coach Rodriguez knows that it hasn't been an easy journey to get to nationals.

    "I lost a lot of people at the end of last semester. We've also had a few injuries that we've had to overcome," she said.

    Due to the early morning practice schedule, several of the student-athletes have had scheduling problems.

    "The whole team did not practice altogether until after Spring Break," Rodriguez said.

    Some of the other schools the Runners will be competing against include the Military Academy, Paris JC, Indiana State University.

    The Runners had to raise funds themselves to finance the $800 Florida trip.

    "They had to raise funds by doing a spaghetti plate sale, a BBQ plate sale, a cheer and dance clinic and several paid appearances throughout the community.

    The Runners will send 20 members to Florida along with their head coach.

    Preliminaries are set for Thursday night at 7:35, and the Runners should know by 8 p.m. whether they advanced to the finals.

    "I really think we can win if everything goes smoothly," Rodriguez said.

Senior squad member Nicole Kennedy thinks first place is possible.

    "I just want to have fun, make it memorable and win first place," Kennedy said.

    When the Runners return from the competition, the workload will continue. Tryouts for the mascot, cheer, and dance teams will be conducted from April 21-23.

    "We'll have two weeks off, then everyone has to tryout again," Rodriguez said.

    For information regarding tryouts for the dance and cheer team and Rowdy the mascot, visit GoUTSA.com.