Months of work came down to just two and a half minutes Saturday for the Douglas High School varsity cheerleading team.
The Tigers, competing in the first statewide cheerleading championships at Carson High School, wowed a packed gym with their routine which included plenty of choreographed music, some tumbling and even a modified human pyramid in the finale.
While the routine wasn't quite enough to vault Douglas into the top two (Of the 16 4A schools competing from across the state, awards were only given for the champion and runner-up), Tiger coach Kerry Munk said she was thrilled with her team's performance.
"The girls put on a flawless routine," Munk said. "I couldn't have asked for anything more.
"Other coaches were telling us it was incredible. We received a lot of compliments."
Galena ended up winning the large-school all-girls show competition, followed by Spanish Springs in second place.
"We had a solid routine, but we needed more tumbling," Munk said. "Just having watched Galena and Spanish Springs, they had all their girls out there tumbling. I think if we would have had more of that, we definitely would have been right up there."
Munk said she's going to look into getting a coach specifically for tumbling next season and seeing if her team can take tumbling classes as well.
Aside from that, however, Munk said the experience of being there was invaluable to the program.
"I was so proud of them," Munk said. "Win or lose, they were winners for just going out there and getting the experience.
"We learned a lot and we'll know how to make it better for next year."
Plans for next year's state championships haven't been set yet, but Munk said it is likely they'll be held in Las Vegas. Either way, the competition is set to continue.
"It was a great day," Munk said. "The place was packed and there were so many good teams there. It was very exciting for the girls to perform in front of such a large crowd."
-- Joey Crandall can be reached at jcrandall@recordcourier.com or at (775) 782-5121, ext. 212.
