Cheer squad wins second straight state title
The Sweet Home High School cheerleaders placed first among seven teams, repeating as state 4A large champions, at the Oregon Student Athletics Association state competition held at Memorial Coliseum in Portland on Saturday.
Klamath Union placed second, and South Umpqua finished third.
“Awesome,” said Coach Amber Rosa. “Really, really good – the girls completely pulled it off.”
That followed a rough season with four or five girls out each week with injuries or illness, Rosa said. “It was one thing after another.”
This was the first time the entire original competitive team was able to compete this season, she said. Because of that, “it was hard work. I’d say we probably worked harder this year than we did last year.”
The team led Klamath Union by more than six points, finishing with a score of 66.75. Klamath Union had 60.58, and South Ump-qua finished with 56.25.
Only one school in 6A small finished ahead of Sweet Home, Newberg at 70.75. Only three out of 11 5A/6A large teams finished with better scores than Sweet Home. A single team in coed and 5A small finished ahead of Sweet Home. Sweet Home finished ahead of all 4A small teams and all 3A/2A/1A teams. A total of six teams across all divisions finished ahead of Sweet Home in points. The competition included a total of 69 teams.
“We had very minor, a couple of tiny little flaws,” Rosa said. “That’s to be expected.”
None of the team’s stunts came down, she said.
Competing on the floor were Taylor Thorpe, Breanna Froemke, Autumn Martin, Kaelee Almy, Christina Jenkins, Sadie Gordon, Alex Olin, Karese Mancuso, Caitlyn Spencer, Lindsey Martin, Kaitlyn Watts, Adriana Perez, Emma Fitzsimons, Sammy McMahand and Natalie Thorpe.
Also on the team and competing during the season were Shalese Mancuso, Madison Seth, Kelsie Zartman, Kalynn Hagle and Sam Lawrence.
Sunday, the Sweet Home junior high club cheer team placed first in the small rec division on Sunday at the Coliseum during the Oregon Cheer Championships, organized by the Oregon Cheerleading Coaches Association.
Elite Performance Academy placed first in the youth level one division and second in the senior level two division.