EDMOND, Okla. – The quest for a repeat national championship is alive and well as a two-victory day sends the Warriors to the National Championship Game.
After battling mother nature on their route to Oklahoma, the Warriors made it to the Midwest to begin the 2023 NAIA STUNT Nationals, hosted by Central Oklahoma University. It's a change of scenery for the national championship in 2023, as the 2022 event was held back home inside Warrior Arena.
Over 70 fans repping Jessup colors made the trip to Oklahoma as the Warriors started their repeat bid against the Stars of Oklahoma City. It was against the Stars that Jessup's journey to a national title also began with a year ago.
Similarly to the 2022 nationals, Jessup dominated in their bout with the Stars, taking the contest 23-2. It's an improvement from their 20-1 victory in their opening contest from a season ago, sending the Warriors to the second round of nationals.
Jessup entered nationals as the top seed, earning a first-round bye. The top-three seeds skip the opening contest, but the benefit of being the top seed is that you take on a team that already competed once on Friday. Oklahoma City beat Missouri Baptist to start the day, sending them to the next round to face the Warriors.
The Warriors had to wait to see who their next opponent would be as they would take on the winner in the Vanguard-Hope International matchup.
Vanguard won their match, sending them to the next round as Jessup and Vanguard squared off for the third time in NAIA STUNT Nationals history. Again, this was a repeat from 2022, as after Jessup took down the Stars last year, they had to take on the Lions.
This time, however, Jessup wanted to change history as Vanguard won that Friday contest in 2022.
In what is the closest match score-wise that Jessup has played all season, the Warriors squeaked by the Lions by the final of 14-13, sending the Warriors back to the national championship round.
Jessup again will have to wait and see who they take on tomorrow, as Vanguard and Hope International will meet again at 7 a.m. (PST).
For the Warriors, they will compete next at 10 a.m. (PST) tomorrow in a winner-take-all championship game. STUNT Nationals is a double-elimination tournament with the exception of the championship round. The winner of Jessup's next game will take home the championship.
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Jessup University is a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), and the Golden State Athletic Conference (GSAC). For additional information regarding Jessup Athletics, visit www.jessupathletics.com; visit www.jessup.edu for more information on Jessup University. Follow Jessup Athletics on social media: Jessup University Athletics (Facebook) and @JessupAthletics (Twitter & Instagram).
