Raena Nichols, Warriors transition to NCAA D-II

Yuba City High School product Raena Nichols and Jessup University, out of Rocklin, completed the 3-peat in Cheer STUNT Saturday with an 18-13 win over previously No. 1 ranked Hope International in Fullerton.

The win makes Jessup the back-to-back-to-back national champion in National

Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). Next year Nichols, who will be a senior, and the Warriors transition to the NCAA to compete as a Division II university as a member of the Pacwest.

Nichols, listed as a Marysville native on Jessup’s roster, first took up STUNT in 2011 before joining the Yuba City team as a prep sophomore.

“I instantly fell in love with it because it takes all the great aspects of cheer and turns it into an intense head-to-head game,” Nichols said in a previous Appeal-democrat report.

Nichols, listed at 4-feet-10, is a flyer for Jessup – a role that features an athlete at the top of any cheer pyramid.

“On the mat, I am mostly a top top, which is better known as a flyer,” Nichols said previously. “So, I’m the one that is getting

Jessup reigns supreme again in NAIA nationals

It was a neck-and-neck battle in the first half, as the intermission began with both teams all square at five. The Warriors then gained some ground in the third, as they won 3-1, taking an 8-6 lead into the fourth, according to William

Jessup’s sports information report.

The fourth quarter is where Jessup pulled away again,, starting with the first routine as Jessup scored on all three sections to go ahead 11-7.

Hope International managed to cut it to

14-6, it would take HIU claiming all six of the remaining points to

end Jessup’s national championship streak.

With possession, the Royals called routine four, needing to be perfect to avoid the loss. But no stranger to big moments, the Warriors stepped up when they needed, taking two points to lock down the championship.

The final routine would see the Jessup Warriors claim two more to begin a frenzy on the mat as national champions for a third straight year.

Courtesy of Matt Horrocks/william Jessup University Sports Information Director Yuba City High product Raena Nichols, pictured as a flyer for Jessup Cheer STUNT, helped the Warriors 3-peat in NAIA Saturday in Fullerton.