Picayune Maroon Tide cheer wins national title, nine other local spirit teams finish among best in nation
ORLANDO, Fl. (WXXV) — Winning a state championship is unforgettable. Winning a national championship takes things to a whole new level.
For one South Mississippi cheer team, that became a reality on Sunday.
The Picayune Maroon Tide varsity cheer team won the 2026 Small Varsity Non-Tumbling Gameday National Championship at the UCA National High School Cheerleading Championship in Orlando. The team advanced straight to finals after an outstanding performance on Friday and delivered another big performance to capture the title.
This marks the first national championship title for the program, though it has received silver, bronze and top-five placements over the past few years. Additionally, Picayune won the 2025 MHSAA 6A Game Day State Championship back in December.
Multiple South Mississippi teams reached the finals over the weekend, and plenty of hardware will be coming back to the Coast.
West Harrison High School cheer finished as the national runner-up in the Large Varsity Co-Ed Game Day division.
Picayune’s Pride of the Tide dance team kept up the school’s winning ways with a third place finish in Varsity Spirit, and both the Maroon Tide cheer and dance programs competed in the inaugural NSSC Small Spirit Program competition, taking home the bronze medal.
Pass Christian High School received third place in the Varsity Co-Ed Non-Tumbling DII division.
Pearl River Central cheer earned fourth place in the Varsity Co-Ed Non-Tumbling DII Game Day division. PRC Dance is also bringing home some hardware with a seventh place finish in Large Varsity Division II Pom.
Poplarville cheer finished ninth in the nation in Medium Varsity Non-Tumbling DII Game Day.
Long Beach cheer came in ninth place overall in Small Varsity Non-Tumbling DII.
St. Martin cheer rounds out our South Mississippi finalists with a 14th place finish in Medium Varsity DII Game Day.
Three other teams reached the national competition. Harrison Central cheer and Stone cheer each reached the semi-finals in their respective categories, and St. Patrick showed out in the preliminary round of Small Varsity DII Game Day.
