By Misha Lawrence
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From the classroom to the mat, MHS’ varsity and JV cheerleading teams have excelled and made their way to the top, defeating Radford High School at the Oahu Interscholastic Association (OIA) west division championships on Nov. 1.
“JV (is an) outstanding team we have. Our rival is Radford and being able to actually beat Radford almost by 20 points and then taking the OIA west title for JV was outstanding,” said Head Coach Renesha Kierstedt.
Both teams had to put in countless hours of work in order to bring what they had to the table and deliver their routines properly . “I feel that we did really good because we practiced a lot for (the) two minutes and thirty seconds that we had to perform, and we put our hearts on the mat,” said Freshman Janel Alviar.
Even amidst some challenges, varsity placed third. “Varsity, we had some problems, I think two or three minutes before mat time with injuries and so forth, and the girls were stressed mentally and emotionally. But, they were able to pull it together,” Kierstedt said. “They pulled it together that minute before and they hit that routine and they placed third. So it was ecstatic.”
The support of every person on the team was significant in the team’s ability to pull through. “I feel like they pushed me and they would just tell me ‘You got it.’ They’re basically just telling me that they’re making me feel better and making me feel confident. They put the confidence back into me,” Junior Cydney-Jerin Meneses said.
Throughout training and the competition itself, Kierstedt expected many things from her team. “I want the girls to learn from everything that they do. To reach higher limits physically,” said Kierstedt, “And to always know that they’re their worst enemy. They’re not going out there to challenge anybody else for competition. They’re only challenging themselves.”
Being successful in this year’s OIA west championship, the JV and Varsity team continue to work and put everything they have to excel and improve for next year’s competition.
