2026 National Championship Team

Competitive Cheer

XULA Cheer wins NAIA National Title!

TOPEKA, Kan. –  Xavier Cheer used a near-flawless final performance to vault three places and capture the Red Banner for the first time since 2022 at the 10th Annual Nfinity NAIA Competitive Cheer National Championship, hosted by Visit Topeka.

The Gold Rush, whose composite score was nearly 4 points higher than second place, finished as the runner-up in the last two national championships in 2024 and 2025, but came out on top in 2026. Indiana Wesleyan, tied its program-best finish, coming in second with a score of 92.75. Their previous runner-up finish came back in 2022.

The event was held at the Stormont Vail Events Center and featured all 15 teams in the preliminary rounds on Friday, followed by the finals rounds on Saturday, the final day of the event. 

The preliminary rounds counted for 25 percent of the combined total, leaving the last 75 percent of the score to be calculated from Saturday's finals performances. 

The Gold Rush finished as the runner-up in the last two national championships in 2024 and 2025, but came out on top in 2026. Indiana Wesleyan, tied its program-best finish, coming in second with a score of 92.75. Their previous runner-up finish came back in 2022.

St. Ambrose (Iowa) led the team scores following the preliminary rounds on Friday with a 92.98 and finished the championship in third with a 91.75. Cumberlands (Ky.) finished fourth, taking home team hardware with a final score of 91.73. 

Finals Point Totals

  1. Xavier (La.)- 96.13
  2. Indiana Wesleyan - 92.72 
  3. St. Ambrose (Iowa)- 91.75
  4. Cumberlands- 91.73
  5. Oklahoma City- 91.48
  6. Dickinson State (N.D.)- 90.46
  7. Missouri Valley- 88.44
  8. Florida Memorial- 86.61
  9. Northwestern (Iowa)- 86.40
  10. UT Southern (Tenn.)- 86.04
  11. Taylor (Ind.)- 83.67
  12. St. Mary (Kan.)- 82.46
  13. Lourdes (Ohio) -82.42
  14. Madonna (Mich.)- 81.23
  15. Baker (Kan.)-80.94
This story will be updated.
 
Gallery: (3-28-2026) Competitive Cheer Wins 2026 NAIA Title
 
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