Colonels 3rd in 4A State Cheer Competition

• -Robert NIEDZWIECKI The Winchester Star

James Wood took third and Millbrook took fourth in Group 4A, and Clarke County took third in Group 2A at the Virginia High School League State Cheer Championships on Saturday at Virginia Commonwealth University’s Siegel Center in Richmond.

James Wood and Millbrook each had their best-ever state finishes.

Second-round team scores were not made available in 4A, but Grafton took first and Liberty took second. (Four of the eight teams qualified for the second round.) In a phone interview, Millbrook coach Dawnette Jones did say she was told by a meet scorekeeper that James Wood beat Millbrook by five points.

The Colonels finished behind the Pioneers at the Northwestern District, Conference 21 West and 4A West Region competitions (Millbrook won each of them), but James Wood coach Tracy Copley said her team had one of its best performances of the season.

“[Our cheerleaders] were very confident, and they sold their routine,” said Copley in a phone interview. “They had fun on the floor and enjoyed performing.”

Copley said the Colonels were motivated to improve on their regional performance. After scoring 194.5 points in the first round last week at Rock Ridge, they scored 165.5 in the second round to place fourth.

“We dropped our pyramid [last week],” she said. “Their goal was to get in the top four today, and they performed well.”

This is the fourth straight year that James Wood has qualified for the state competition. The Colonels’ previous best state finish was fourth in 2013.

“I’m very pleased with the season, and I’m very pleased with the team as a whole,” Copley said. “It’s a phenomenal team, a great group of kids, good athletes, well-behaved, well-mannered. I’m really sad the season’s over.”

Jones was pleased with her team’s performance.

“We did our routine exactly the way we’ve been doing it through districts, conference and regions,” she said. “We were just as energetic, we hit all of our stunts just as beautiful. I was very, very proud of the routine that we did.

“In the first round one of our pyramid stunts was just a little wobbly, but we hit that perfect in the second round, and our score went up. We hit all our stunts perfect in the second round. We did everything we needed to do. There wasn’t any disappointment in our routine from me. They performed to the absolute best of their ability.”

In addition to achieving its highest state finish (the Pioneers took fifth in 2014), Millbrook captured its first-ever regional title this year.

“We’re very, very proud of our season,” Jones said.

After the first round, Grafton was in first, Liberty was in second, James Wood was in third with 222 points and Millbrook was in fourth with 208.5 points.

Millbrook’s team includes Taylor Benoit, Simone Berdecia, Madison Bollinger, Madison Chandler, Madison Clark, Ellison Deegan, Olivia Escalante, Caitlyn Faint, Casey Hassinger, Alexandra Himelright, Kamryn Koller, Clarissa Leonard, Airryonna Lively, Josie Morrow, Alyssa Nacin, Danielle Orth, Julie Pacini, Savannah Payne, Sarah Purdy, Angela Riemer, Morgan Todd, Kaitlynn Vafadar, Rylee Warchola and Ashley Bigler.

James Wood’s team includes Rodrigo Bernabeu Merino, Henry Buchholz, Keilena Burch, Grace Cooper, Toni Culp, Emma Hammond, Brianna Harper, Jamie Marcy, Julia Marcy, Myra Martin, Emily McKee, Savannah McKee, Danielle Ritter, Alexsandra Smith, Brooke Stautzenbach and Lauren Taylor.

In Group 2A, Clarke County took third behind first-place Graham and second-place Luray in tight race between the top three teams. Graham won with 189 points, Luray followed with 182, and Clarke totaled 180.

“To finish third in the state is really good,” said Clarke County coach Melissa Astin, whose team finished third in Group 2A for the second consecutive season. “In the final score, we were all within 10 points of each other.

“I think our girls performed an amazing routine in the second round. Everything hit, and they left it all on the mat. Our second-round performance was almost flawless, and the girls really brought up their energy level to give Graham and Luray a run for their money. Hopefully, we’ll be back next year to represent Clarke County at states.”

Clarke County’s team includes Chloe Unger, Nyjah Davis, Kaylee Fowler, Zoe Viza-Fernandez, Lexi Marasco, Ryanne Stevenson, Javonna Lansdown, Chloe Eichenlaub, Kaitlynn Bailey, Holly Mercer, Madyson Kosiorek, Olivia Hummer, Jayla Stephenson, Monica Fugate, Rachel Cascio, Aly Conrad and Laura Duerson.

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