Spirit Fest preps Wildcat cheer

Saturday’s annual Spirit Fest hosted by the Oak Harbor High School cheerleaders was the last chance for some teams and the first opportunity for another group to perform in competition.

Originally scheduled for Dec. 20 but postponed on account of inclement weather, the competition was held at North Whidbey Middle School because of a youth wrestling tournament going on in the high school gym.

“We decided to go ahead with the event because this is the final qualification meet before the state championships next Saturday in Everett,” Wildcat coach Pam Headridge said.

Sporting new white uniforms, the Wildcats performed another spectacular routine to win the super large coed division championship.

“The team is so excited about the new uniforms. We just got them and this is the first time they’ve worn them,” Headridge said.

Although there were no other teams competing in the division, Oak Harbor had the highest score in the Spirit Fest competition, tallying 244 out of a possible 300.

The next closest team was Ferndale in the small varsity division with 215 points.

“I was very happy with the performance,” Headridge said. “They were a little scared, but they did all right. We are all ready for the state competition next week.”

Performing in competition for the first time was a contingent of Oak Harbor Youth Football cheerleaders.

Unofficial spokesperson for the group, Rickell Piloneo, said they were all excited about their first competition, but a little nervous at the same time.

“We are going to do one of our cheers from football and we are also going to do some stunting, tumbling and dancing,” said Jillian White, another member of the group.

Equally nervous was coach Breanna Boon, who said she has been coaching youth cheerleaders for two years but this was her first time coaching the competition team.

“We’ve only had eight practices and we’ve come a long, long way in just a short time,” she said.

In the true spirit of Oak Harbor cheerleading, the youth team scored an impressive 82 points in the junior recreation division.

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