We did it again!
Many years ago legendary football coach Amos Alonzo Stagg said the true challenge was not winning a championship, it was successfully defending your title the next year.
Like a true champion, the defending state champion Oak Harbor Wildcats recorded the top score of 271 points to blow away the competition and bring home the Large Co-Ed Varsity division championship trophy at the 2007 WIAA/Dairy Farmers of Washington state cheerleading championship held Thursday, March 22, at the Yakima Sundome.
Thirty teams from around the state competed in six separate divisions ranging from Small Girls to Large Co-Ed in the Sundome and points-wise Tahoma, competing in the Super Large Varsity division, was Oak Harbor’s closest competitor, scoring 253 points.
In the Small Girls Varsity division, Coupeville scored 200 points to finish in a second-place tie with Kentlake.
Following the state competition, both island teams headed to the airport and boarded a 6:30 a.m. flight to LAX Airport in California for the USA Nationals at the Anaheim Convention Arena.
Upon arrival, the teams barely had time to catch their breath before getting right back into competition.
“Oak Harbor’s five-girl stunt teams were on the mat and competing at 12:22 p.m. and 12:50 p.m. that same day,” coach Pam Headridge said. “The competition at the nationals was fierce. There was a total of 60 stunt teams vying for a chance to compete in the finals.”
The Wildcats’ stunt team comprised of Lauren Aldana, Samantha Culver, Niki Sanders, Ashley Parrish and Lauren Theriault advanced through the preliminary round to reach the finals.
In the championship round, the team finished in 14th place.
“This was only the third time in Wildcat history that a stunt team placed in this category,” Headridge said.
Coupeville competed at 4:51 p.m. Friday in the Small Varsity Novice Show Cheer division. Matched up against 30 other teams the Wolves turned in an excellent, clean performance, but unfortunately did not advance to Sunday’s finals.
This was the first time a Coupeville team has appeared in the national championships.
On Saturday, the Oak Harbor team took the mat in the preliminary round of Advanced Small Co-ed Varsity Show Cheer.
“This is the top of the ladder in skills and the Wildcats were eager to show off their talent,” Headridge said.
The team put together a clean, high-energy performance and advanced to Sunday’s finals where five teams, representing five different states, were pitted against Washington’s finest.
These teams were Baldwin from Hawaii, Hunter from Nevada, Aliso Niguel from California and Springfield from Oregon.
In the final round the Oak Harbor team dropped one stunt at the beginning of the routine, but still won the third-place trophy.
Three other schools from Washington were represented at the USA Nationals.
These teams were Ballard, Hanford and Decatur. Only Hanford won a trophy, placing seventh in the Medium Varsity Show Cheer Intermediate.
