The Sweet Home High School cheerleaders finished fifth at state Saturday after a tough week practicing late adjustments to their routine.
Henley High School won the 4A cheer championship Saturday at the Memorial Coliseum in Portland with a score of 181.8. Newport finished in second with 181.1 points.
Cottage Grove was third with 155.8 points, and Sisters was fourth with 146 points.
The Huskies finished with 142.7 points.
Eleven teams competed in the 4A Division.
Newberg High School had the highest score of the day with its small coed team, earning 202.4 points.
“We faced a lot of adversity this season compared to the last couple of years,” said Coach Lea Knight. The team had to put in alternates and change the routine all through the season when girls were unable to compete due to illness, injuries and other reasons.
That forced the team to spend a lot of practice time switching the routine around instead of perfecting it, she said. The two alternates, sophomore Taylor Goodwin and junior Aliya Boss, each competed twice in four outings over the past month. Boss competed at the state championship Saturday after an injury sidelined sophomore Shelby Goodwin during a practice last week.
In the past, alternates have had experience in positions around the mat, Knight said, but neither Boss nor Taylor Goodwin had cheered before.
The team held tryouts during basketball season and picked them both up late, Knight said, and “they did great.”
Taking the mat Saturday were senior Jessi Thomas; juniors Rylee Vasfaret, Nicole Grady, Boss and Hailey Wolfe; sophomores Courtnie Woodard, Hailey Miller, McKenzie Wolfe and Mariah Harrington; and freshmen Kelly Ogden and Charisma Hardee.
The Huskies spent three days in nonstop practice before the state competition, with a little more Saturday morning, getting down the adjusted routine.
“We kind of threw it together last minute,” Knight said. Some people were in different positions than they’re used to, “so it was a struggle.”
Their appearance at state “was the best they’d done since we put it together,” Knight said. No stunts were dropped. The team didn’t receive a deduction but missed out on a point or two on a kick spin that didn’t materialize.
“We made it work,” Knight said. “We felt really good about it afterward. We were just focused on on making sure those stunts hit. All those stunts went up.”
And their energy levels stayed high throughout the routine, Knight said. Overall this season, “the girls did a really good job handling the adversity, working hard, knowing we’re switching things around. They were showing up when it was hard. That’s awesome.”
Knight said the team was happy to see Henley win the championship.
“We were really happy for them,” she said. “We really like them. We were very excited for them. Newport was amazing too.”