Hillsboro, Kan. - For the first time in Tabor College history, Hillsboro was home to a college cheer and dance competition as the school hosted the first annual Bluejay Cheer Classic.

The inaugural event could not have gone any better for Tabor as the Bluejays edged out Ottawa University with a score of 8.0 to win the event.

"I am extremely proud of the team.  They pulled through and hit a great routine on the mat," said Head Cheerleading Coach Jeremy Nigh. "We had a long week of practice to make sure that we were ready to go."

Three schools had dance teams attended the classic, including Southwestern College, Ottawa University and Independence Community College. Ottawa won the dance division with Southwestern coming in a close second.

This is only the second year that the cheer team has been recognized as a competitive sport.  In 2011, the Bluejays placed second in the conference event.

"We're going for the win this year," said Nigh. "Second place was nice for our first year of competition but this year we are going for it all! I'm going to take the judges comments and really work to change some things around, making the routine even bigger and better."

"I felt that the first-year event went very well," added Nigh. "There were a few hiccups along the way, but we're very encouraged   and what it could mean in the future. We want this to become an annual competition and I hope to get more Kansas schools and the surrounding states to come to this event."