ALBUQUERQUE — The pom-poms swirled in unison, the flags whirled with precision and the human pyramids slowly climbed in a vast celebratory weekend known as the New Mexico State Spirit Championships.
The local squads performed their routines March 21 on the mat on The Pit floor, all dreaming of carrying home a trophy.
While that did not happen, plenty of memories were created.
Española Valley
Glory was there for the taking for the Sundevils, who crushed their performance in the Game Day routine, sitting in third for Class 4A with 82.9 points. But they could not sustain that over the Cheer With Music portion and eventually finished with 148.47 points, good for sixth place overall. Taos took the blue trophy with 179.35 points.
Still, for Española, it was a huge jump from last season when the Sundevils finished 11th.
“We were proud for what they did this weekend,” coach Tatiana Quintana said. “They went out and they performed their best that they did all season long.”
The squad put a lot of emphasis on the Game Day routine, she said, and that work showed in the results.
“We started really early on in the season and gave them the opportunity to have their Game Day routine kind of together for quite some time,” Quintana said. “What helped us was working on details and fixing the small things that weren’t maybe exactly where we wanted them, so that helped us.”
The Cheer With Music program did not come to fruition as early, but the improvement in it throughout the season also was quite evident, she said.
“Overall, the attitude and determination were the reasons why they did such a good job in their routines and they ended up looking the way they did,” Quintana said. “Our athletes created a strong bond this season. They enjoyed being there. Through both routines, their excitement and determination showed everybody what they’ve been working for all season. Everything that went right and hit was wild for our kids because our kids were super excited to go there and show off what they had.”
The Cheer With Music routine could have scored higher, she said, but it was docked a deduction that likely cost the Sundevils a trophy.
“When we realized that and saw the scores, the kids weren’t really upset, they were more excited,” she said. “Placing 10 and below for the past seven years in our division and to be within the top five-, six-range was really exciting for them.
Our returners are really excited. We’re capable of being up there with all the other schools. This solidified the fact that our kids are doing the right things and that putting in the work for the
11 months is really paying off.”
McCurdy
While the scores show the Bobcats trailing the other schools, coach Sabrina Valdez said the squad has come a long way this season.
“They went out and laid it all on the mat,” she said. “They did everything that was expected of them. They had fun, but they let the nerves get a little bit of the best of them.”
That’s understandable given the challenge of performing in the cavernous Pit in front a small group of supporters, but the McCurdy athletes came away smiling.
“Seeing their satisfaction after finishing with the competition; they really felt good with themselves,” Valdez said. “I think they’re all pretty numb. I’m not shocked or amazed at what they can do and how well they performed. We may not have placed in the top, but for them, they performed at their level with the utmost integrity and determination and that’s all I could have asked for.”
McCurdy finished 17th overall with 116.63 points, with Questa winning it with 160.27 points.
“They learned that the state competition is no different than the other competitions,” Valdez said. “They should just be themselves. They practice it a million times and they should believe in themselves because they have it and they get it.”
What it did was whet the team’s appetite for next season.
“They are definitely very hungry now,” she said. “They understand how tough the competition is for state. I think they’re ready to take on the next step. A lot of them are going to be seniors and I think they will come back and they’re experienced and everyone will help to push the team and show the team exactly what they’re capable of.”
Pojoaque Valley
It was difficult to overcome the tragic loss of a fellow student/athlete early in the school year but the Elkettes also used the season as an opportunity to celebrate the life of Nick Manzanares.
“We were given the material very late in the year so I think we just did the best we could,” senior leader Kylie Brooke Fresquez said. “The tragedy threw everything off. We thought we had all this time but then all of sudden, it was almost time for state and we didn’t have much time at all. But it made us closer as team. I think we did very good for the time we had and the material we were given. It was very fun and very memorable. I think we did pretty good, but I think we could have done better.”
Pojoaque finished 13th overall with 129 points in 4A.
Having it all come to an end is rather bittersweet, she said.
“It was an awesome opportunity to perform in front of everyone at The Pit,” Fresquez said. “And just coming together as a team and making new friends. It feels like a mix of emotions. You feel like you’re going to pass out but you’re so excited and once you get on the mat, you just black out and it’s just like muscle memory takes over. It’s an adrenaline rush.”
Fellow senior Annalise Villegas said the time factor definitely took its toll, especially with the Cheer With Music routine.
“We had a pretty limited amount of time and we just finished it this last week, the week of state,” she said. “We were missing girls the week before state and we had to pull it all together this week. As rushed as we were, you wouldn’t have known we just finished it.”
Given that, “I think, honestly, we really did amazing,” Villegas said. “I think the dinner before state was really memorable for me and the different team bonding that this team did. Even before we went out on that mat, we all prayed together and it was very memorable, too. We gave it to God at that point and went out there as one.”