The Linfield cheer squad departs Wednesday for Florida for the program's second foray into a national cheerleading competition.
 
Fourteen Wildcats cheerleaders plus first-year coach Madesyn Samples are scheduled to compete beginning Friday at the Universal Cheerleaders Association National Championships in Orlando.
 
The Linfield delegation includes Mckenna Mills, Miki Dunham, Taetum Lynn Kalani, Meadow Evenson, Deiana Gutwig, Shaelynn Silva, Hannah Wilken, Angela Serna, Tatiana Briones, Georgia White-House, Taylor Longhorn, Kayleen McMillan Dressel, Kaeley Green and Grace Christiansen.
 
Prior to departing McMinnville Wednesday morning, the cheer squad is performing its routine for friends and family Tuesday at 6 p.m. inside the Ad and Joan Rutschman Fieldhouse.
 
A total of 181 cheer teams are converging this week on the Walt Disney Resort. Linfield is slotted to compete at 9:04 a.m. EST (6:04 PST) on Friday, January 12.
 
A live video stream is available as a pay-per-view event.
 
Linfield is competing in the Open All Girl Game Day category and is one of 38 teams in its division. The top 24 teams advance to the semifinals. The finals will be pared to the top 12 programs.
 
In 2022, Linfield advanced to the national finals, placing ninth among 19 teams, a field which included seven NCAA Division I programs.