Kat Schwab Discusses Unique Opportunity in Competitive Cheerleading and STUNT at Davenport

The sport of STUNT is on the rise. Prior to connecting with Davenport University dual-sport athlete Kat Schwab, I was naïve and believed this to be competitive cheerleading. While Schwab is in fact a National Cheerleaders Association (NCA) cheerleader at Davenport, she also takes part in the distinctive sport of STUNT, too. This is her journey from sideline football cheerleader as a little girl to a dual sport athlete in college for one of the premiere programs in the country.

Schwab was born in Pennsylvania, but lived in West Virginia for some time early in life. She eventually moved back to Pennsylvania via Gibsonia and attended the Pine-Richland School District. It was in this suburban Pittsburgh area that she joined her first cheerleading team and even her first cheerleading gym. But before all of this, Schwab developed some skills as both a dancer and gymnast that became useful when she dedicated herself to the sport of cheerleading. After some time as a youth football sideline cheerleader and being coached by her mom Cindy, she joined FCA Gems for three years before finishing her club career at Cheer Athletics for All Star Cheerleading.

Meanwhile, sideline and game-day cheerleading continued for Schwab even while her competitive cheerleading career continued. She had the unique privilege of cheering on a state champion football team in her senior year at Pine-Richland. It was a unique season with COVID-19 restrictions and guidelines in place, but it was a positive note to end her sideline cheerleading days on. “We missed cheering for many of those games that year, but being able to be at the WPIAL championship and the state championship was special.”

The COVID-19 pandemic also affected her club cheerleading career in high school as some opportunities to compete at nationals in Florida were canceled during her years as an upperclassman. It was truly unfair to end her club career on this note, but her consolation was to join a prominent cheerleading team in college to get back to the national stage. And at Davenport, she’s done exactly that. “It is very special to me; the chance to compete for such a great program and to have had the chance to go back to nationals for NCA. We are one of the unique programs that has the opportunity to compete at NCA for cheer while also competing as a STUNT team. There are not many programs that do both in the entire country.”

There’s a reason for this as there are only around 40 STUNT programs in the entire nation. Similarly to acrobatics and tumbling, the NCAA refers to STUNT as an “emerging sport” at the Division II level. It is also an all-girl sport like A&T. Soon, Division I and Division III levels are expected to add the sport to their respective categorization of emerging sports. Before her college recruitment, Schwab was not familiar with the sport of STUNT herself and was expecting to join a sideline cheerleading program in college. That was until she found out about the unique opportunity to continue competitive cheer and be a pioneer in the sport of STUNT from searching the internet looking at potential cheerleading options.

“I eventually decided that I really wanted to compete in NCA because it was similar to All-Star cheerleading,” Schwab said. “I saw Davenport had an NCA and STUNT program, but I had never heard of STUNT. It is very popular in other states, so it was new to me. I thought it was cool that at Davenport, there was an opportunity to win two national titles in the same year.”

For people living back home in western Pennsylvania, Schwab is hopeful of bringing attention to the sport of STUNT and the type of athleticism that exists within this community. Unlike competitive cheerleading, STUNT is broken into four quarters. Eight routines, that progressively increase in difficulty, are choreographed by USA Cheerleading and performed by the two teams battling head-to-head for each of the first three quarters. Points are scored based on the team’s ability to perfect their choreography. The slightest errors can result in deductions, so precision and attention to detail are prominent in this sport. To reduce travel, teams usually only compete a few weekends per year and play three to five games per weekend to play 10-12 regular season games per season.

Examining the quarters, quarter one is dedicated to scoring points performing partner stunts. The second quarter is mounts, pyramids, and stacking and contains a larger number of girls taking part than in the first quarter. Quarter three is where the former gymnasts and tumblers thrive as they look to showcase their athletic ability. The last quarter is an entire team performance and includes aspects from each of the four previous quarters. At the end of the competition, the team with the fewest amount of deductions from the entire game is crowned a winner. Unlike a competitive cheerleading setting, the sport of STUNT is based on that ability to perform and to do it across various routines and quarters.

While there are some finer details about the sport, hopefully this explanation was enough to spark interest to watch or read more about the sport. Schwab has a similar goal in mind as well. “Since many people don’t know what it is, I love telling people about it. Few people are going to consider it until they understand what this sport is about. I thought it was weird at first, but once you see it and understand the sport, it is easy to fall in love with. It’s not typical cheer, but it is very competitive.”

Today, STUNT takes a backseat in Pennsylvania behind acrobatics and tumbling, cheerleading, dance, and gymnastics. But someday, there may just be a breakthrough in the area to share about STUNT. For now, Schwab is content to continue her own career and soaking up as much experience and knowledge she can get. The Davenport Panthers are a true dynasty in STUNT and brought home their eighth College STUNT Association National Championship earlier this year. With a 13-2 record overall, the Panthers defeated Oklahoma Baptist, the number two seed, in the title game to secure another title.

Schwab noted, “I think a lot of our success is because of the culture our coaches bring to the team. A lot of our athletes are from all over the country and are expected to work together. Our coaches focus on not just winning, but truly having a good time with each other. When we have fun, those are our best games and routines.”

Before the STUNT national title this year, Davenport also secured a national title in NCA cheerleading in 2022 in the Advanced Division II category. When she had the opportunities to compete on the national stage taken from her in high school, I couldn’t imagine herself returning and even being a part of two national titles before even becoming an upperclassman in college. But the 2023-24 school year will present a new opportunity and a first in the history of Davenport. The all-girl NCA team will remain, but a co-ed team will also be added. Girls will be selected to one of the two teams and will compete with the all-girl team or the co-ed team.

When not competing in cheerleading or STUNT, Schwab does not go far from the sport, as she is a model for GK International. The apparel and beauty aspects of the cheerleading industry are extremely fascinating to her, and she considers it an honor to be a part of unveiling new products to the cheerleading community. “I always wanted to be a model. There were some cheerlebrities modeling for another company called Varsity. I looked around and found GK and saw that they made leotards and uniforms for the Olympics. Simone Biles wears these, and I said that I wanted to do that. I sent in some photos and was selected to be a model. I’ve been doing so for over three years now.”

Schwab is a young woman of many talents, but perhaps one that has been buried in all of this is that she is studying to become a nurse. She was inspired by her mom, a nurse practitioner, and her uncle, a surgeon, to enter the medical field after high school. At the time of this piece, she is interested in the critical care nursing world and intends to spend time in this realm before possibly heading back to school later in life to become a nurse practitioner. This may be a long road, but Schwab has proven the dedication to her craft for years prior to this possible chapter beginning in the coming years.

Having the chance to compete at nationals at the college and high school level, winning two national titles so far in college, and two Mid America West conference titles have been some of the top accomplishments from her career so far. But even more than these memories, she will always cherish those times she had with her mom, traveling to clinics, competitions, games, and private workouts over the years. These moments made an everlasting impact on her and have proven to be critical in her becoming a member of a cheerleading and STUNT powerhouse like Davenport.

Schwab has no plans to slow down in the sport of cheerleading past college. With three years of eligibility left, she intends to exhaust all of it and continue competing with adult competition cheerleading teams in her adult life. After her competitive days conclude, the next chapter of coaching is one she believes she will be eager to enter.

Kat Schwab’s story was one that was begging to be told. Sometimes, athletes from the area go off to a new place to continue their athletic career. Truthfully, I found out about Davenport University by a fluke chance. But because of this unexpected discovery, I connected with perhaps one of the more underrated college athletes from our region that is competing in college. Telling stories like Schwab’s is something that brings such immense joy to me and I hope that through this piece, she and her sport of STUNT will get more of the recognition it deserves. Schwab may be one of the few that are taking part in this sport at the college level today, but being a pioneer for those that will come after her is something that brings her immeasurable pride.