The Gannon University competitive cheer and dance teams' preparation for Nationals will hit a more rigorous pace this weekend when the Golden Knights participate in two competitions in New York.

Coach Kerri Makay's teams will compete at the Keuka College Cheer & Dance Classic College in Kueka Park, N.Y., on Saturday before taking part in the Upstate Collegiate Championship in Elmira, N.Y., on Sunday.

Two aspects will make this weekend a suitable training ground for Nationals: the judging format and the fact that the meets occur on consecutive days.

"These competitions will contain judging panels that are using the exact same skills rubrics and scoresheets that we will see at our National Championship," Makay said of the NCA & NDA College Nationals, which will take place April 6-8 in Daytona Beach, Fla. "So it is a pretty big weekend for the team to see how they are progressing and what their scores could look like down in Daytona.

"Having back-to-back competition days is preparation for Nationals, as that is similar to how Nationals is structured. The team is really looking forward to that aspect of this weekend."

In the Keuka College Cheer & Dance Classic, Gannon's Co-ed Cheer team will compete against Elmira, and the Hip Hop team will face Keuka. On Sunday, Gannon's Co-ed Cheer and Hip Hop teams will face the host school, Elmira College.

Gannon's Dance Team Performance and Game Day squads will compete uncontested in both meets.

This will be the first meets for the Golden Knights since Feb. 18 when they turned in four first-place finishes in the Red Hot Cheer and Dance Competition in Slippery Rock.

After this weekend, the Knights will turn their attention to their own competition, the Road to Daytona Showcase on Saturday, March 25, at Gannon's Recreation and Wellness Center.