The Pit is full of spirit, great cheer
AHA, Rio Rancho, Valencia, Hope Christian among winners
Atrisco Heritage, Rio Rancho, Valencia and Hope Christian all had a piece of the pie Saturday night at the State Spirit Championships.
Those four schools brought home state titles at Dreamstyle Arena — the Pit. The Jaguars came from behind on the second day of the event to topple dynastic Roswell in Class 5A dance. The Coyotes had been state champions seven years in a row before Atrisco Heritage snapped that streak.
“After today’s performance,” Atrisco Heritage coach Anabel Cadena said, “they did it so well, I knew we had to be bumped up.”
The Jaguars were third when the day began, but a slower, more contemporary routine — one much harder to synchronize, Cadena said — put Atrisco Heritage over the top. From the southwest corner of the Pit bleachers, they squealed with delight when the public address announcer called out Roswell’s name as the 5A runner-up. The Coyotes had been
competing in the second-largest class the last few years before moving up.
The Jaguars were one-half point behind second-place Carlsbad after Friday, and almost 3½ points behind Roswell. But they didn’t know exactly whom they were chasing, since individual teams only know their own score and not anyone else’s total following the first day.
“We’ve been working so hard on this routine,” said one of two Atrisco Heritage seniors on a young squad, Emily Ure. “We’ve been motivating each other since the beginning of the year, and we knew we could do it.”
The championship is the third in any sport for Atrisco Heritage, the first for a girls sport.
“There were some minor mistakes, but we all felt very confident,” Ure said.
There was some familial irony to this one, since Cadena’s son, Joziah Ramos, won a state basketball title with the Jaguars on Bob King Court just two weeks earlier. And he was back on the floor again Saturday, celebrating once more.
It was, Cadena said, the metro title earlier in the school year “that gave us a taste.”
Ure jumped in.
“We couldn’t get enough, apparently,” she said, smiling.
Atrisco Heritage finished ninetenths of a point (181.9-181) ahead of Roswell in the final standings.
Rio Rancho’s cheerleaders finished ahead of La Cueva and Eldorado, and capped a marvelous day for the school, which won baseball and softball tournament championships earlier in the day.
“I think we had an incredible bond as a team, and we felt it on the floor,” said senior Andrea Tortorici.
“Our love for each other is so strong,” added another senior, Elisa Lopez. “That’s what helped us get through this year.”
The Rams placed third in the bigschool division a year ago behind Eldorado and La Cueva.
Valencia was the state cheer runnerup in 5A last year to Lovington, but the Jaguars edged Taos for this year’s Class 4A crown.
“We weren’t sure what was gonna happen,” Valencia senior Ashlyn Peralta said. “It could have been anybody’s.”
Valencia, with 11 seniors, was intent on improving its position from 12 months ago.
“I think we worked a lot harder this year,” Jaguar senior Anissa Malizia said. “And we wanted it more.”
The run toward state began in earnest a month ago, Valencia coach Alexis Montaño said.
“I was super proud of them,” Montaño said. “They came out here with the energy they needed, and I told them to keep their heads high, because anything can happen.”
Hope Christian and Valley finished tied for first in Class 4A dance with 180.8 cumulative points for their two routines.
The Huskies won the tiebreaker by virtue of having the highest-scoring performance between the schools over the two days, that being a score of 91.1 on Saturday. (Every school performs once on Friday, and a second time on Saturday.)
The Huskies placed second to St. Michael’s in 1A-4A dance a year ago, but this year were competing in 4A, now the second-largest class.
“They really wanted it,” Hope Christian coach Ashley Nix said. “They wanted to be moved up in division and go up against Valley and St. Pius.”
The Sartans finished third behind the Huskies and Vikings.
Valley, competing down for the first time, had been a dominant big-school program, winning the last six state titles.
Other schools to win cheerleading titles were Clayton (1A-2A) and Raton (3A). St. Michael’s was the Class 1A-3A dance champion. West Las Vegas (1A3A), Lovington (4A) and Hobbs (5A) were co-ed cheerleading winners.
Other metro-area schools to also win trophies included Sandia Prep (runner-up in Class 1A-3A dance); Atrisco Heritage (second place in coed 5A cheer); Valley (second in 4A coed cheer) and Los Lunas (third in 4A co-ed cheer).
State spirit is the third largest of all New Mexico’s state sporting events.
The full list of results, with scores, can be found on D8.