NHS nails its toughest routine yet to run away with 6A small cheerleading state championship

PORTLAND — To win its second consecutive state cheerleading title a year ago, Newberg had to sweat out the awards ceremony after making a mistake during its routine.

Despite a one-point penalty, the Tigers still won the 2014 6A small cheerleading crown, but only by a margin of 0.08 points over runner-up Tualatin.

There was no such drama at Memorial Coliseum Saturday when Newberg attempted to make it three in a row, as the Tigers nailed their routine and pretty much burst into celebration as soon as it had been completed.

“We were just really excited because we did put the best routine that we possibly could on the mat,” senior captain Abby Long said. “So at that point, it didn’t really matter what place we got because we knew we did the absolute best we could. Then at that point, it was let fate take its course and hope for the best and it ended up turning out.”

Newberg’s 70.50 was not only good enough for a 5-point victory over runner-up Lakeridge, but was the highest score of any team at the meet regardless of division.

Having placed second at this meet for three consecutive years before breaking through in 2013, head coach Lisa Berg has developed a program that continually strives to raise the bar in terms of the difficulty of its routines.

So when the Tigers performed their routine perfectly, they had good reason to celebrate right there on the mat and be confident while awaiting the judges’ decision.

“I’ve been competing for four years now and this is definitely the hardest routine that I’ve ever had the opportunity to do,” senior Rilee Rosauer said. “It’s been really hard, but it’s also been amazing. It’s so rewarding, especially after you hit it.”

Newberg has been known for having excellent stunting, but this year paid specific attention to improving the quality and difficulty of its tumbling.

“That was an area we’ve always been weaker in and we decided to get competitive with everybody else,” Berg said. “Our stunting has been really strong and this year we really focused on getting our tumbling to be as strong because there definitely was a huge deficit between the two scores.”

Berg said she was especially proud of the mental toughness her team displayed in such a pressure-packed situation, as it’s a trait upon which she’s tried to build the program. She credited her two captains, Long and Rachel McWilliams, for the team’s attitude this year.

“They have to have the mental strength to get through it and when you’ve got great leaders, it happens,” Berg said. “The two captains that were chosen, they just lead by example. It’s everything I want embodied with running this program. It does make a big difference.”

Berg added that the pressure that comes with maintaining such a high level of success has been a big motivator for the team the past few years and helps explain how the program seems to have developed the ability to come through in the clutch despite its commitment to perform tougher and tougher routines each year.

“Every year we have to raise the bar, otherwise we won’t keep our place,” Rosauer said.

Newberg will now turn its attention to defending the national title it won last year when it returns to Anaheim, Calif., to compete at the USA Spirit Nationals March 20-22.

Berg said she hopes to add some new stunting elements that she felt just weren’t ready for the state meet, but for at least a few days the Tigers are simply enjoying their three-peat.

“We’re still pretty happy right now,” Long said. “It’s a pretty awesome deal, but we leave for nationals in (27) days and that will be the cherry on top of our amazing season, hoping for another national title.”

Written by: Seth Gordon