Lady Jaguars, Demonettes face adversity
Both teams happy with how they performed after first day at state
Adversity and change walked hand in hand, because they were constants for the cheer teams at Santa Fe High and Capital.
The script for the 2017-18 season was all too similar for the two programs: Two longtime assistant coaches who found themselves running the program, a rash of lineup changes leading into the the most important spirit event in the state — the State Spirit Championships that began Friday in The Pit — and uncertainty about how their routines would work.
When Santa Fe High’s Gina Branch and Capital’s Laura Jurado looked back at their respective team’s opening acts Friday afternoon, they beamed with pride at how they performed. The New Mexico Activities Association posts scores for each team for the opening day but does not disclose the corresponding team. Branch did not have her score and Jurado did not return a phone message left by The New Mexican on Friday night.
Regardless of where they finish after Saturday’s final session, they both came away proud of how their teams handled adversity.
“We come out fighting and we prevail, and that’s what we did today,” Branch said.
The Lady Jaguars and the Demonettes executed very clean routines that appeared to have no major deductions, but Jurado said a good score depends mainly on how many minor deductions judges count.
“It’s hard,” Jurado said. “That’s why I tell the girls, ‘Do what you gotta do. You have one job and that’s just to give it all-out when you’re out there.’ To get set back by a minor thing or a point deduction is just sad, because they might have killed it and maybe they get a few points deduction, and that takes them out of the running.”
More important for both squads was the feeling they had after they left the mat at center court. Both teams were excited about their performances, especially since they spent a couple of weeks moving cheerleaders around in different positions to account for their changing roster. Santa Fe High sat four members either because of injuries or departures, while Capital had two who were gone after semester grades were published. The Lady Jaguars had 10 cheerleaders who came and lasted through the year. They also had an assistant coach leave in the middle of the season, but Jurado found a couple of assistants to replace him.
“We had to have second tryouts,” said Capital senior Karyn Jurado, who is Laura Jurado’s sister. “And we had a senior who came back [after opting not to join the squad]. And now we have two new coaches, and they brought the family part. They really united us and we needed it.”
Santa Fe High showed up with a team of 21. Senior captain Faith Garcia said the hardest part about the last two weeks was essentially relearning the team’s routine. It made for some long, trying practices as the Demonettes worked out the kinks, but progress showed over the last few days. In fact, their last practice was one of their better
ones and lent hope that they could nail it down when it mattered the most, she said.
“Even though, it was difficult, the girls pulled through and did what they needed to do,” Garcia said. “They did that for the team, and they were so willing to do it. I am proud of us for that.”
More than anything, Branch said the past two weeks did more than just prepare her team for the state competition. It gave them life skills that will help them later in life, she said. Felicity Tafoya, another senior captain for Santa Fe High, saw the impact.
“You realize that if something’s not working, you have to do something else,” Tafoya said. “It just helps you outside of athletics and sports. I feel like it helps us with life lessons.”
Meanwhile, Capital took some of its life lessons and produced some hardware this season. The Lady Jaguars took first place in the Spirit XPress West New Mexico State Cheer and Dance Tournament.
“We’ve been through a lot of ups and downs this year,” Lady Jaguars senior Andrea Martinez said. “A lot. When we lost one of our coaches, some of the girls went blank, were fatigued. We kind of lost our spirit animal. Getting those two coaches really helped us get our life back. We had to show all of the doubters what we’re about. We don’t need them, we just need these fighters here.”
Capital took some of its life lessons and produced some hardware this season. The Lady Jaguars took first place in the Spirit XPress West New Mexico State Cheer and Dance Tournament.