In cheerleading competitions, every move counts

Published 11:49 pm Saturday, January 24, 2009

EVERETT — Tomiah Dollison watched Saturday evening as her teammates, in white, black and orange, hurried to line up for their performance at Comcast Arena.

For the first time in its history, the Monroe High School cheerleading team competed at this year’s the state championship, along with 50 other teams.

Dollison, who is the team captain, got sick before the competition and couldn’t perform. Still, the junior knew her hard work paid off.

“It’s disappointing, but I know they are going to be amazing,” Dollison said. “Competing is fun. You hope to win, but if you don’t, you just move on.”

The spirit of competition is definitely not the only thing to love about the sport, Dollison said. “It’s totally a team thing: We are together. I like the bonds we have with each other.”

Less than an hour before their performance, the Monroe team members were excited to face the challenge, said junior Lillian Mojica, flashing a big smile.

A bright streak of orange curved around their eyelids above the smooth, black line of their eyeliner.

“We need to be confident. It’s our first time, and we are pretty nervous,” said Carly Peterson, a sophomore.

To win, the girls’ routine needed to be sharp, their words crisp, said Erin Barney, also a sophomore.

Close to 1,000 people filled the arena, and about as many had attended the drill show earlier in the day.

Moms and dads, friends and boyfriends, brothers and sisters clapped and cheered for their favorite teams.

Nicole Bjorklund, a sophomore at the University of Portland, came to watch her sister, a high school junior from Sammamish.

“I’m always worried that they’ll drop her,” she laughed.

Bjorklund said her sister, Brittany, made her proud. “I have a lot of respect for her, for getting good grades and stuff. Junior is the hardest year.”

Girls like Brittany help break the stereotype about cheerleaders, Bjorklund said. High school cheerleaders must learn to balance their time, develop discipline and have “patience, definitely a lot of patience,” she said.

Bjorklund was wearing a grey sweatshirt with the name of her sister’s high school. This was the third time she was supporting Brittany at championships, and it was completely worth the trip from Portland, she said.

“She’d do the same for me,” Bjorklund said.

The team from Juanita High School still had a couple of hours to go before its performance. Senior Aurielle Tuttle and junior Kristen O’Neill, in blue and red uniforms, decided to grab a bite at one of the food stands.

“It’s cool to see all the other schools. This makes us more excited to perform,” Tuttle said.

The girls said they became cheerleaders because it seemed like a fun sport — and haven’t been disappointed.

“It’s so much different that all the other sports,” said O’Neill.

Reporter Katya Yefimova: 425-339-3452 or kyefimova@heraldnet.com.