The Bayfield High School cheerleaders again brought home some hardware from the state spirit championships.
Competing in the 2A/3A Co-Ed Cheer division at the Broadmoor World Arena in Colorado Springs on Friday, the Wolverines finished second in the state.
“They did awesome,” said BHS coach Annette French. “We did our best in the prelims, and by the time the finals came around, they were a little tired, but still performed well.”
The Wolverines were the third and final team to advance to the finals after scoring a 63 in the preliminary round. The Wolverines would have scored a 73, but a 10-point deduction bumped them down.
“We had one thing not connected by a hand, but we fixed it,” French said about the deduction.
Coal Ridge, meanwhile, scored an 81.8 in the prelims while DSST: Byers scored 64.95 to join Bayfield in the finals. Ault’s Highland High School finished just behind the Wolverines in fourth with a 61.95 after a 2-point deduction.
In the finals later that night, the Wolverines put it all together and scored a 73.2.
“That’s our best score yet,” French said. “I think their routine was clean, and they executed it really well.”
DSST Byers scored a 66.85 to take third, while Coal Ridge scored 87.6 to win its fourth consecutive state title. It was the fourth straight year Bayfield finished second behind the Titans.
“It’s really hard to compete against them when they’re scoring what 5A teams are scoring,” French said.
Coal Ridge’s finals score was actually higher than both the 5A and 4A co-ed state champions this year, Castle View (86.525) and Thompson Valley (82.05).
“We are happy to be second in the state,” French said, but noted it was also bittersweet because the team would have liked to won the title.
“We had an amazing year and the seniors had an an amazing (career) to be in the running four years at state,” French said.
Tristan French was also named to the all-elite team at the championships. He cheered all four years with Wolverines, and the coach said he “really progressed this year.”
Bayfield also competed in the regional championships Monday on video and will find out Friday whether they qualified for the national championships.
Durango High School put two teams in the state spirit championships.
In the 4A All Girl Cheer division, the Demons finished 15th out of 25 squads with 65.7 points.
In the 4A Poms competition, Durango scored a 78.375 to place 17th.
Erie won the 4A All Girl championships for the fourth consecutive year with a 91.45. In the 4A Poms, Roosevelt edged Erie by .65 points to win the title with a 94.05.
