State Spirit Championships worth cheering for

ALBUQUERQUE — There may have been a few stumbles, but for the most part emotions were up, the noise level was up and so were the spirits of athletes and fans.

Why would you expect anything else last weekend at the New Mexico State Spirit Championships at the Pit?

The two-day competition began Friday, with the dance performances. The Los Lunas Tigerettes, the only Valencia County team in the dance division, started with a required pom routine.

“They hit all their formations. Their energy level was great, our motions were strong” said coach Joni Thompson-Armijo, noting that parents wearing colored wigs provided extra motivation.

There were several hours before the next performance, a jazz routine, so Tigerettes like Brooke Dixon had a chance to gather their thoughts.

“For me, I start running through my next routine, make sure I know what I need to do, what I need to change,” said the Los Lunas senior.

After the judges combined both scores, LLHS finished fifth out of 22 teams in a very competitive 5A battle, won by Roswell.

Saturday, the cheer squads took the mat, with Los Lunas coming in eighth in 5A. La Cueva took home the championship. The Tigers, among the last performers, “delivered two excellent routines,” said coach Amanda Mendez, who noted, “The 5A division remains incredibly competitive. The level of talent displayed was exceptional.”

State Spirit is always one of the most well attended New Mexico Activities Association events, featuring large, enthusiastic crowds.

“Every time we’re in the Pit, the energy is just different, just higher,” said Denise Garcia, Valencia cheer coach, following the Jaguars first routine in 4A. “The girls are pumped for it.”

“The crowd did their assignment,” said VHS senior Kiara Parra. “They were yelling with us. They were hyping us up.”

“We hit all emotions. It was just a great one,” Ana Meza said of the teams’ first performance.

Teammate Maci Philips admitted feeling “stressed and nervous” about Valencia’s second go-round later Saturday afternoon.

“We have not performed that yet,” Philips said. “This is our debut.”

In the end, VHS came in 10th overall, with Taos taking home the championship trophy.

Physically, it is a challenge for the athletes, with some grabbing a tweaked muscle, an inhaler, or trying to catch their breath. Valencia’s Yaqueline Castillo admitted she was very tired, “especially going up those stairs, out of breath,” after walking to the main level.

There can be other unique challenges. During the middle of one routine, a coach repeatedly signaled to a judge, asking to start over because of bad audio on the music. Another squad continued on even though the audio was skipping.

Belen cheerleaders, in A-4A Co-Ed Cheer, had a difficult time hearing the “call backs” for offense or defense over the P-A system during the Eagles first presentation, said coach Pauline Vallejos.

“You just have to keep going and work through it,” Vallejos explained. “Hopefully, (the judges) see that the energy stayed up, there was no confusion.”

Bernalillo won the blue trophy in A-4A Co-Ed Cheer, with BHS eighth.

BHS senior Alyssa Garcia was on the varsity since eighth-grade, and had mixed emotions about her final hoorah.

“It’s sad but it’s exciting,” Garcia said. “I’ve been cheering since I was really little. It’s fun to be able to finally close that chapter.”

Perhaps parents are also ready to close this chapter.

The stress is “too much to handle,” said Amanda Lozano, whose daughter Mickalea is a Tigerette, but “worth every minute.”