DAYTONA BEACH, Fl. - The Owls hit a near perfect routine on Friday afternoon as they delivered the program's first national championship at the 2004 Chick-fil-A Cheer and Dance Collegiate Championship in Daytona Beach.

Kennesaw State took the ultimate prize in cheer in impressive fashion with a nearly flawless routine that dominated the field. The Owls score of 8.99 eclipsed runner-up Hawaii Pacific (8.53) and third-place Central Oklahoma (8.51).

"I am so proud of what we accomplished," said head coach Felecia Ingle on her first-ever national championship. "For one of the first times in my life I'm speechless."

The Owls who have been beset by injuries over the past few weeks, knew they needed to beat an 8.53 when they hit the floor as the final competitor on Friday afternoon.

"We wanted it more than anyone else," said Ingle. "We knew when we walked off the floor that it was ours. We were so happy with our routine."

Kennesaw State was in first place after the first round of competition on Thursday morning but were not overly confident going into Friday's performance.

"Last year we in first place after the first day and we finished second," said senior Beth Smith. "So we knew the first day is in the past and we had to step it up on Friday. We knew that if we hit our routine it was ours."

After tweaking some parts of their routine on Thursday, the Owls were confident about their performance on Friday.

"We only had a few minor things to work on," added Ingle. "We made some minor changes and then the girls just went out and took it, it was amazing."

A raucous, frenzied crowd were quickly taken into the Owls high-octane routine and the momentum took KSU through the 2:15 routine.

"Our alumni was there to support us and we wanted to perform to their expectations," said Smith on the strong following of past KSU cheerleaders. "They told us that we worked so hard and we needed to take what we deserve."

The championship is the third at Kennesaw State this year s the cheer squad joins the women's soccer team and the men's basketball team on the tower of champions.