Sean C. Morgan
The Sweet Home High School cheerleaders finished third and fourth with two stunt groups, and Shelby Goodwin finished second and earned a place on the all-state cheer team Saturday at the Oregon Cheerleading Coaches Association’s All State competition.
The competition marks the beginning of the competitive cheer season, which begins its regular competition schedule in January.
“For our stunt groups, they did amazing,” said Coach Lea Knight. Their routines included some of the team’s most difficult routines. “Every year we have to step it up more and more. Each year they (the competition) keeps getting better and better.”
In all of the individual performances and team performances, the girls executed everything the way they were supposed to, Knight said, and she doesn’t think any of them could have done anything differently.
“At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter who brings home medals or a trophy,” Knight said. “If one of the groups brings it home, they bring it home for everyone.”
Saturday, the two stunt groups gave their best performances since they’ve been practicing, Knight said.
Team one, with the theme “Red,” finished in third place. Members of the team were Nicole Grady, Hailey Wolfe, McKenzie Wolfe, Shelby Goodwin and Rylee Vasfaret.
Team two, with a “Jungle” theme, finished in fourth place. Members were Kelly Ogden, Hailey Miller, Jessi Thomas, Charisma Hardee and Courtney Woodard.
Newport placed two teams ahead of Sweet Home during the competition, and Henley finished fifth.
Newport was competitive with Sweet Home in the late 2000s, around the time Knight was a member of the cheer team, she said. This year, “they’re amazing.”
“It’s getting harder and harder to compete (in 4A),” Knight said. “It’s nice having competition. It makes winning (or placing at state) so much more rewarding.”
The 4A classification had 12 teams.
In the 4A individual classification, Goodwin placed second behind Hiram Luis of Gladstone.
“She did amazing,” Knight said. She had a little trouble in the competition last year. Sometimes when that’s the case, a cheerleader won’t go back to it. “She came back this year and brought all of it. I think it probably felt good for her.”
She finished ahead of Erin Watanabe of Newport, earning a $750 scholarship from the OCCA. Along with five other cheerleaders, they are the members of the 4A all-state team, which will perform following the Oregon School Activities Association state championships in February.
They were among 29 registered to compete for the title. The top 30 percent were selected to the all-state team.
The OCCA had not yet released overall results or placement below third as of Monday, but Knight said Kelly Ogden, McKenzie Wolfe and Pippi Somatis all performed well in the individual classification, again executing everything they were asked to do.
Based on the competition and how the team is doing in practice, Knight is optimistic about the upcoming cheer season.
They’re “looking good, really good – stunting-wise, amazing,” she said. The team can already execute all of the stunts in its routine, and the regular season is still ahead. The coaching staff is talking about adding more difficulty to the routine “because we know we can do harder stunts than we are now.”