ORANGE CITY, Iowa – College of Saint Mary's competitive dance team continues to be on the rise.

The Flames placed ninth among the 10 entries on Friday, the first day of the two-day Northwestern Invitational at the Bultman Center.

"We delivered our best performance of the season on Day 1 of the Northwestern Invitational,'' CSM Coach Jennifer Wasik said. "The team felt grounded, confident and fully committed to what we brought to the floor.''

Defending national champion Midland University won the event with a score of 95.75, and was followed by Viterbo University (89.58), Morningside University (88.87), Doane University (88.25), Concordia University (87.70), Dordt University (78.04), Hastings College (75.87), Northwestern College (74.79), CSM (73.20) and York University (70.75).

The Flames return to action on Saturday at the same venue, and are scheduled to take the floor at 12:20 p.m. You can find the link to the live stream on the CSM dance schedule page.

Wasik said she's excited for the second day.

"All around, we are performing with joy, which is when we are at our best,'' she said. "Looking forward to carrying that momentum into Day 2 and making a few intentional adjustments to elevate our run even more.''