NEW ORLEANS— The Montreat cheer and dance squads traveled to New Orleans for the Battle in the Big Easy, taking on teams from across the country in several competitions.
 
Dance kicked things off with a pair of triangular matchups on Friday. In the first contest, the Cavaliers placed second of three teams, notching a 43.98 score. Dillard won the initial trio with a 59.93, while Talladega scored 30.86 points out of 100.
 
The Cavs then repeated their second-place showing with an improved score of 50.96. Our Lady of the Lake took the triangular thanks to a 61.26, and Talladega ended last due to its 33.76 score.
 
Cheer then competed in its opening dual of the competition followed by a triangular with Dillard and Our Lady of the Lake. Montreat fell to Florida Memorial as the Lions defeated the Cavs 78.26 to 43.53. In the triangular on Friday, the Cavaliers placed third of three teams with a score of 48.23. Dillard won the trio with a 68.63, while Our Lady of the Lake (58.86) tallied second.
 
On day two, both squads participated in the team competition with five other schools in the dance category and six other squads in the cheer category. The dance team placed sixth with a score of 47.03 and the cheer team finished sixth with a 49.8. University of the Cumberlands (80.53) won the dance grouping, and host Xavier University-Louisiana (96.7) captured the cheer title.
 
As the Cavaliers rounded out their 2-day event, cheer dropped a dual versus Langston University, who won 81.66 to 47.51, and dance ended its final triangular with a third-place result of 59.86, its highest score of the contest. Cumberlands (83.1) placed first in the triangular, while Our Lady of the Lake (70.63) recorded the second-place routine.
 
For the full results from day one of the Battle in the Big Easy, click here. For results from day two, click here.
 
Cheer now stays in New Orleans for the NAIA East Grouping Qualifier tomorrow at 10:00 a.m., where the winner will earn an automatic bid to the national championships next month. Dance awaits its NAIA Southeast Grouping Qualifier in New Orleans on Feb. 25.