BUCKHANNON – The Buckhannon Police Department provided a special escort through downtown Buckhannon for the West Virginia Wesleyan Bobcat Dance Team as they returned home from a second-place finish in a nationwide competition.

In posts on social media, the City of Buckhannon and WVWC congratulated the Dance Team for placing second in the nation for Division II dance performance at the National Dance Alliance Collegiate Cheer and Dance Championships in Daytona, Florida. 2023 marks only the second year WVWC has had a competitive dance team, and in its first season, the troupe placed seventh at the national competition.

The college’s post noted that the Bobcat Dance Team competed in Division II team performance, a category that requires showings in the styles of jazz, pop and hip-hop and is widely considered the most challenging category of the competition. The NCA/NDA championship is the largest event of this kind in the world, according to WVWC. The Bobcat Dance Team competed against seven other schools from across the U.S. The West Virginia Wesleyan Dance Team is under the direction of head coach Lesa Dencklau.

You can learn more about the competitive dance team or their strong showing this weekend here.