The Cascade Christian Cougars cheerleaders weren’t afraid to take a chance before their biggest competition of the year.
An hour before they were scheduled to perform their most important routine of the year, Cougars co-captain Meredith Gallion said her squad decided to switch it up for their final performance of the season.
“It was getting pretty close to the time for us to be up,” Gallion said. “We decided at the last minute to change up our routine a little bit. We were hoping everyone would remember what to do and we all did it. We were able to remember everything.”
When it was all over, the Cougars had tallied 237 points during their routine lasting two minutes and 30 seconds, nabbing first place overall in the small schools division against 14 formidable opponents at the Washington cheerleading state meet on March 22 at Bellevue Community College. Vancouver’s Union High School finished second in their division compiling 225 points.
Gallion said the entire team was anxious, but didn’t allow those butterflies to stop them from achieving their dream of earning a championship.
“We were all really nervous but we knew we had the ability to do it,” Gallion said. “Going in we were thinking as a team, ‘All we can do is perform to the best of our ability and hope that it’s enough in the end.’ We didn’t really know what to expect going in. When we found out that we won, we just freaked out.”
Making it all that more remarkable was the fact the performance at state was just the Cougars’ third official performance of the 2007-08 school year.
“We’d gone through so many injuries as a team this year,” Cougars coach Denise Gallion said. “The only places we competed at was at Azusa Pacific University in southern California on Feb. 16 and the state qualifier on March 15 at Kentwood High School.”
Gallion applauded her athletes for overcoming obstacles in their journey to the promised land.
“They worked through it,” Gallion said. “It wasn’t easy. First and foremost they put their faith in God and that helped them get where they wanted to be.”
Cougar cheerleaders on the state championship roster included Katie Krob, Meredith Gallion, Nicole Long, Jessie Napier, Allison Short, Brittany Splinter, Lauren Davis, Courtney Hollandsworth, Sarah Rogers, Lexie Rice, Madi Velling and Danielle Ignacio.
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