By Kyle Charters
Asst. Sports Editor

Most fans have the opportunity to see the Purdue cheerleaders throughout the basketball and football seasons. The Boiler faithful, though, don't usually get to see the cheerleaders competing for themselves.

That will change this weekend when the cheerleaders' third-place finish at the National Cheerleaders' Association National Championships is showcased on television.

Purdue coach Al Enlow was pleased with the team's performance.

"One of our goals was to finish in the top five; anything after that was icing on the cake," said Enlow.

The event, which took place from April 5 through Sunday, will be replayed at 1 p.m. Saturday on CBS. It took place in Daytona, Fla.

"Right on the beach, it was nice," said Enlow.

Purdue's third-place finish is its best ever. It also marks the second-highest finish for a Big Ten school ever; Ohio State has won the championship before.

"We were really excited because it's the best we've done so far," said cheerleader Brad Sparks. "We were really close to winning."

The association invited 38 teams to the competition, and 16 of those accepted bids. The Boilers did well in the preliminary round, winning the crowd segment of the competition, which included a 45-second span before the start of their routine. During that time, the cheerleaders waved Purdue flags, held signs and encouraged the crowd to make noise.

That first-place effort helped Purdue earn a tie for second with North Texas going into the finals. Eight-time champ Louisville was in first, .003 of a point ahead.

In the finals, though, the Boilers slipped to third place while North Texas overtook Louisville for the title.

"That was pretty exciting," said Enlow.

Purdue Pete's Steve Birky and Kyle Shaw also finished in third place in the mascot competition.

In an interesting twist, the Boilers tied for third with Oklahoma, who they had been cheering against on the sidelines for much of March. The schools' two cheerleading squads became acquainted after their men's and women's basketball teams faced each other during the NCAA tournament.

"We got to know them quite well during the last part of the season," said Enlow.

Enlow is optimistic about the Boilers' future, in part because they have made gradual improvement on the national scene during the last few years.

"Next year we should be challenging for that top spot," said Enlow.