By Harlie Bates-Hudgin
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The Trojans’ 17-member cheer competition team competed in the Hawaii High School Athletic Association (HHSAA) State Championship on Nov. 16 at the Blaisdell Arena, coming in second place in the Large Division. A close 16.75 points behind the winner, Radford High School, the Trojans were ecstatic about their results. While the team got fourth place at the OIA championship, taking second place in the HHSAA state championship was a big accomplishment.
“We weren’t really expecting to get second, we were kind of just hoping for the best and it was amazing,” said Senior Dannela Pagay. Senior Brieann White added, “We worked really hard, so knowing that all of our hard work paid off really meant a lot to us.”
The girls have been practicing for states since early summer, knowing that their routine wasn’t easy. “A lot of skills that they performed are newer skills that they have never performed in previous years such as stunting and baskets,” said assistant coach Brian Rafael, “If I had to rank it from a one to a 10, I would put it about a nine, so it could still be more difficult than what they put out.”
Preparation for competitive cheerleading isn’t the same as other sports. “You can’t just prepare like an actual football game, you can’t read somebody else’s tapes and look at plays and figure out how you’re (going to) beat the other team because every other team has their own strengths and weaknesses,” said Rafael, “In order to prepare for this year, us as the coaches, we had to find our greatest weaknesses and make those stronger and make sure that our strongest assets continued to be consistent and strong.”
This year’s MHS cheerleading team had no males, and the girls took pride in that. “It felt pretty good knowing that we could (perform) without all the muscle that guys have,” said White, “We normally have guys on the team and it’s fun because we’re all friends and stuff but having all girls is like we’re all closer and it just felt good knowing that we’re all girls and we can still do it.”
The girls feel that their relationships have improved since they first met. “We have a really close bond this year,” said Pagay, “We can tell each other anything, it’s kind of like a family.” White added, “They’re unique and my best friends. Being together everyday, we’ve become really close.”
Although the competition season for Hawaii is over, we haven’t seen the last of MHS’ cheerleaders. For the past two years, MHS has gone to Las Vegas, Nev. and participated in Nationals, taking first place both years. They aim to do the same this year.
