#HeartDance Notches 22 Athletes on NAIA All-America Teams
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The Heart of America places 22 student-athletes on the NAIA Competitive Dance All-America Teams.
Leading the selections was Missouri Valley's Miyu Shito who becomes the program's first two-time All-American and lone first team selection for the league. Shito was chosen as a first team All-American, which is also a first for the program. Three other Viking dancers were selected as honorable mention All-Americans. Amaijah Ibrahim (St. Louis, Mo.), Amber Newsom (Ankeny, Iowa), and Amanda Postlethwait (Grain Valley, Mo.) all earned their first All-American selections.
Grand View was one of two Heart programs to represent the conference at the 2021 NAIA Competitive Dance National Championship, where they set a program record for highest championship finish after finishing in 4th place with a final score of 76.81. The Vikings also led the conference with seven athletes on the All-America list: Mary Yarkosky (SR/Oskaloosa, IA), Hannah Carr (SO/Cedar Rapids, IA), Marissa Ruppel (JR/Des Moines, IA), Autumn Schott (SO/Alden, IA), Jordan Nieuwenhuis (SO/Primghar, IA), Alexis Kuecker (FR/Prairie City, IA), and Kiersten Latham (JR/Creston, IA).
Baker also represented the league on the national stage and finished in 7th place with a final score of 68.84. The Wildcats had six student-athletes earn All-American Honorable Mention honors including Emma Jones, Jaila Randle, Alyssa Waller, Linnea Carlson, Mary Joan Monteclaro, and Keirstyn Reynolds.
Graceland's Nicole Fry and Gwyneth Sacry both earned Honorable Mention status for the second consecutive season. Mount Mercy also had a pair of athletes earn Honorable Mention honors in Cami Foote and Grace Herring. Benedictine's Molly Dietz rounded out the list of award winners for the league with an Honorable Mention nod.
| Name, School | Team |
| Miyu Shito, Missouri Valley | All American |
| Kaleigh Ryan, Missouri Baptist | All American |
| Nicole Kapalko, Point Park | All American |
| Nyah Brooks, Viterbo (Wis.) | All American |
| Bryn Groff, Morningside (Iowa) | All American |
| Kaitlin Scheff, St. Ambrose (Iowa) | All American |
| Morgan Pfohl, St. Ambrose (Iowa) | All American |
| Brooke Lofgren, St. Ambrose (Iowa) | All American |
| Savana, Thorsen, St. Ambrose (Iowa) | All American |
| Hallie Casey, Aquinas (Mich.) | All American |
| Amaijah Ibrahim, Missouri Valley | Honorable Mention |
| Amber Newsom, Missouri Valley | Honorable Mention |
| Amanda Postlethwait, Missouri Valley | Honorable Mention |
| Molly Dietz, Benedictine (Kan.) | Honorable Mention |
| Emma Vogt, Missouri Baptist | Honorable Mention |
| Cami Foote, Mount Mercy (Iowa) | Honorable Mention |
| Grace Herring, Mount Mercy (Iowa) | Honorable Mention |
| Nicole Fry, Graceland (Iowa) | Honorable Mention |
| Gwyneth Sacry, Graceland (Iowa) | Honorable Mention |
| Emma Jones, Baker (Kan.) | Honorable Mention |
| Jalia Randle, Baker (Kan.) | Honorable Mention |
| Alyssa Waller, Baker (Kan.) | Honorable Mention |
| Linnea Carlson, Baker (Kan.) | Honorable Mention |
| MJ Monteclaro, Baker (Kan.) | Honorable Mention |
| Kierstyn Reynolds, Baker (Kan.) | Honorable Mention |
| Mary Yarkosky, Grand View (Iowa) | Honorable Mention |
| Hannah Carr, Grand View (Iowa) | Honorable Mention |
| Marrissa Ruppel, Grand View (Iowa) | Honorable Mention |
| Autumn Schott, Grand View (Iowa) | Honorable Mention |
| Jordan Nieuwenhuis, Grand View (Iowa) | Honorable Mention |
| Alexis Kuecker, Grand View (Iowa) | Honorable Mention |
| Kiersten Latham, Grand View (Iowa) | Honorable Mention |
| Natalie Rector, Cumberlands (Ky.) | Honorable Mention |
| Tori Kunelis, Point Park (Pa.) | Honorable Mention |
| Elena Troia, Point Park (Pa.) | Honorable Mention |
| Kele Johnson, Loyola (La.) | Honorable Mention |
| Alyssa Ordoyne, Loyola (La.) | Honorable Mention |
| Paige Ferguson, Campbellsville | Honorable Mention |
| Kathryn Rohweder, Hastings (Neb.) | Honorable Mention |
| Jessalyn Wilson, Viterbo (Wis.) | Honorable Mention |
| Maddie Dibble, Viterbo (Wis.) | Honorable Mention |
| Renee Lukowicz, Doane (Neb.) | Honorable Mention |
| Emily Duffek, Morningside (Iowa) | Honorable Mention |
| Samantha Snyder, Morningside (Iowa) | Honorable Mention |
| Payton Leavitt, Morningside (Iowa) | Honorable Mention |
| Isabelle Majeres, Morningside (Iowa) | Honorable Mention |
| Madison Mahr, Morningside (Iowa) | Honorable Mention |
| Alisyn Bardsley, Midland (Neb.) | Honorable Mention |
| Julianne Lewis, Midland (Neb.) | Honorable Mention |
| Skylar Brooks, Midland (Neb.) | Honorable Mention |
| Taylor Jacobsen, Midland (Neb.) | Honorable Mention |
| Emory Throener, Midland (Neb.) | Honorable Mention |
| Sidney Howard, Midland (Neb.) | Honorable Mention |
| Jordyn Pierson, Oklahoma City | Honorable Mention |
| Ally Setser, Oklahoma City | Honorable Mention |
| Caroline Cannedy, Oklahoma City | Honorable Mention |
| Megan Burning, Oklahoma City | Honorable Mention |
| Gracy O'Rahilly, St. Xavier | Honorable Mention |
| Sydney Bramlett, Siena Heights (Mich.) | Honorable Mention |
| Lily O'Rahilly, St. Francis University | Honorable Mention |
| Madeline Smietanski, St. Francis (Ind.) | Honorable Mention |
| Stephanie Behland, St. Francis (Ind.) | Honorable Mention |
| Lindsey Koshowsky, Concordia (Mich.) | Honorable Mention |
| Aly York, St. Ambrose (Iowa) | Honorable Mention |
| Hannah Schriner, St. Ambrose (Iowa) | Honorable Mention |
| Jordan Sanders, St. Ambrose (Iowa) | Honorable Mention |
| Jenny Hillider, St. Ambrose (Iowa) | Honorable Mention |
| Madison Baese, Aquinas (Mich.) | Honorable Mention |
| Anna Putnam, Aquinas (Mich.) | Honorable Mention |
| Sophia Serrato, Aquinas (Mich.) | Honorable Mention |