ORLANDO — The LIU cheerleading and dance teams are returning home from the Sunshine State as national championships.

The combined Sharks team won the Open Spirit Game Day division at the UCA/UDA national championships on Saturday at ESPN's Wide World of Sports.

LIU produced a final-round raw score of 184.1333, topping runner-up St. John's (181.7333) and third-place South Dakota (179.5333).

It marked the first time the LIU cheerleading and dance teams performed together in the competition, along with mascot Finley, as part of the new open program competition.

"I am so proud of this team's growth and to bring home LIU Spirit's first national title in program history," dance coach Kristen Greto said. "Working alongside [cheerleading coach] TJ [Bettineschi] and our assistant coaches during combined practices really brought dance and cheer together. Our student-athletes trusted our visions and put on a great show. I'm very excited to see how the team continues in future years." 

See the full results here.