YPSILANTI, Mich. — Xavier University of Louisiana's third-year competitive cheer team delivered the school's first-ever NAIA national team championship in any sport with a record-setting point total Saturday.
        XULA's final score of 93.70 out of a possible 100 points at the 2022 NAIA Cheer National Championships — 75 percent of the points based on Saturday's performance, the rest on the Friday preliminary — set a meet record for highest winning score. This is the NAIA's sixth year of sponsoring a national championship in this event; the NAIA is the only U.S. collegiate athletics association that crowns a national champion in this sport.
        XULA's preliminary score of 91.83 points ranked second out of 15 teams — St. Ambrose led with 92.63 — but the Gold rallied on day two to clinch against three opponents that also surpassed 90. Indiana Wesleyan placed second with 92.58 points, followed by St. Ambrose at 92.17, Dickinson State at 90.04 and Concordia (Mich.) at 88.82. Defending champion Oklahoma City, sixth in the preliminary round, finished in that same position with 85.88.
        "We knew how hard we had worked over the last four months," said junior flyer Yaa'Ann Agyeman-Yeboah, "and we knew how close we were to the title. We pushed through, gave it our all, and every single person consented to focusing on one thing they wanted to improve for the final. We thought about all the people who look up to us and depended on us to bring home the very first red banner, and we internalized our love for the sport to make it happen."
        XULA received a half-point deduction Friday, but none Saturday.
        "We refocused after Friday's performance," head coach Glenn Caston said. "Friday wasn't our best performance. We went back to the hotel and had a long talk — two hours — to refocus. Friday was the first time we had not maximized on our jump sequence, so we modified that for the final."
        Oklahoma City set the previous championship-meet scoring record of 91.53 a year ago.
        XULA was 33-0 this season against all opponents and is the school's second team to finish unbeaten. Men's basketball in 1940-41 was 29-0 and won the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association Tournament at Tuskegee, Ala., but that team received no bids to NCAA, NIT or NAIA end-of-season events.
        XULA placed fifth at cheer nationals in 2021.
        Caston has been XULA's head coach all three seasons. His roster this year has 40 student-athletes, but the NAIA limits teams at nationals to compete with no more than 24. Joining Agyeman-Yeboah at this meet were Kennedy Baggett, Syre Baker, Kaitlyn Banks, Marcus Barham, Tia Barrett, Gabrielle Brightmon, Hailie Brown, Amiyah Chapman, Madison Clay, Chakayla Coulter, Britney Dixon, Kennedy Dunlap, Alyssa Hoey, Kalenea Holt, Simone Hubbard, Chardunay Lee, Kassidy Luke, Teddie Reid, Ja'Mya Rucker, Kaleb Trimmer, Antonio Underwood and Kelsey White. Fifteen of those 23 are sophomores or freshmen. Assistant coach Amber McTee also traveled to nationals.
        Prior to Saturday, XULA's closest run at an NAIA national team title was in men's tennis. Coach Alan Green's Gold Rush are a three-time runner-up: 2016, 2017 and 2019.

2022 NAIA Cheer National Championships
scores after the second and final round
93.70 XULA
92.58 Indiana Wesleyan
92.17 St. Ambrose
90.04 Dickinson State
88.82 Concordia (Mich.)
85.88 Oklahoma City
85.59 Midland
83.83 Pikeville
82.07 Georgetown (Ky.)
81.82 Missouri Valley
80.99 Point
80.72 Missouri Baptist
79.05 Mobile
76.80 Cumberlands
68.22 Friends