YPSILANTI, Mich. – The University of Tennessee Southern competed for a Red Banner on Friday and Saturday. The Firehawks finished 11^th out of 15 NAIA programs.

Performance Highlights

• St. Ambrose (Iowa) wins its second straight Red Banner after one runner-up finish and twice in third. 
• The Bees bested their own record for the highest score in the championship, raising it by 1.77 points. 
• Xavier (La.) leaped over Oklahoma City to grab second place during their final performance, with the Stars finishing third. 
• Dickinson State (N.D.) and hometown Concordia (Mich.) claimed fourth and fifth respectively. 
• In total, five teams scored in the 90's while the other 10 were over 82 points.
• Cumberlands (Ky.), Georgetown (Ky.), Missouri Valley, Northwestern (Iowa), Saint Mary (Kan.) and Xavier (La.) did not receive any deductions.
• All 15 teams finished with team scores above 82 points, a first in the history of the NAIA Cheer National Championship.
• Florida Memorial and Saint Mary (Kan.) made their NAIA nationals debut, the only two teams in the field to do so.
• Thirteen of the 15 teams who reached the championship this season also competed in the event last year. 
• Concordia (Mich.), Indiana Wesleyan, Missouri Valley, Oklahoma City, and St. Ambrose (Iowa) have qualified for the championship each season the NAIA has hosted the competition. 
• Saturday's Final Round was 75% of the total team score.

FINAL SCORES

1. St. Ambrose – 97.28
2. Xavier – 96.91
3. Oklahoma City – 95.91
4. Concordia – 91.73
5. Dickinson State – 91.06
6. Northwestern – 88.55
7. Missouri Valley – 88.46
8. Florida Memorial – 87.95
9. Saint Mary – 87.78
10. Cumberlands – 86.75
11. Tennessee Southern – 86.00
12. Indiana Wesleyan – 85.08
13. Georgetown – 84.70
14. Midland – 83.04
15. MidAmerica Nazarene – 82.33

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