By Kara Nitta
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Backbreaking work and rigor. The past month for the JV and Varsity cheerleading teams have been anything but easy. Despite that, on Nov. 19, both teams took second in the Oahu Interscholastic Association (OIA) West Competition.
“The preparation was grueling. We had practices at night from 6:30 (p.m.) – 9:30 (p.m.) and we went through a lot of trials and tribulations,” explained Varsity cheerleader Junior Kylee Ann Enoki. One of those trials were drastic changes to the JV and Varsity routine that was caused by two major factors: injuries and grades, both of which impacted the progress made. “We had to change our routine … in two and a half weeks. A completely new routine from preseason,” explained Varsity cheerleader Senior Jalyn Buenconsejo.
For both teams, this meant they had to constantly change their routines to find the best one for their team. What they eventually settled on was a smaller group of dancers to help highlight individual skill. JV had to rearrange who was in their pyramid as well as their stunt group. For Varsity, the changes involved a complete reworking of their routine.
Everyone believed that the teams performed to the best of their ability. “I always make sure that (the teams) go out knowing that they are doing the best that they can,” said cheerleading Head Coach Renesha Kierstedt. The final scores for both teams was JV with 224, and Varsity with 289.5, putting them just behind Radford, who won first place in both JV and Varsity divisions.
These changes seem to have paid off, as Varsity cheerleader Junior Bounliphone Xayabath explained, “We’re really proud of ourselves that we gave it one hundred percent. Our goal was to give it our all and perform our hearts out and we did that so all we can say is that we’re proud and we’re happy and we can’t wait for the next round.” Assistant Coach Brian Rafael agreed, saying, “They always do great, both JV and Varsity. They did everything they can, they performed; left everything on the mat. Not worried about what they could have done better.”
The MHS teams would move on to the State Championship against Moanalua, Radford and Kamehameha Schools where Varsity placed third in medium division.
