KSM Cheerleaders win fifth MIL Championship
JV wins their first, first place
Photo by Tre Cravalho
The Warriors Varsity Squad gives their final pose in their routine. In the middle (on the ground) is Hannah Patrick, one of the captains on the squad. The competition took place at the KSM high school gym, on November 7, 2015.
For the fifth time in Kamehameha Maui cheerleading history, the cheer team walked away with the championship title in the Maui Interscholastic League cheerleading tournament on Saturday, Nov. 7, at Kaʻulaheanuiokamoku Gymnasium, and for the first time, the junior varsity squad also placed first
The Varsity squads were up for the main event of the day.
Appearing first of the varsity teams was Lahainaluna with only five girls on the mat. Their performance brought them to third place with a total of 262.75 points.
Next was Maui High School, who placed second with 266.75 points.
The Kamehameha Maui Warriors, with their first-place performance, came shortly after, and concluding the varsity portion of the competition was Baldwin High School, who placed fourth with 256.50 points.
The Warriors high-energy routine was precise and crisp, but was 107 points under the possible score of 375. Coach Kealii Molina said that they received the most deductions for their transitions and formations.
He said that their league scores correlate with their placement at the Hawaii High School Athletic Association Cheerleading Championship, and since their score was a bit lower than they hoped, their placement may be affected. In fact, the Warriors are scheduled to go fourth in a line-up of 13 schools in the medium division, which include the sister campuses, Kapālama and Keaʻau.
The Warriors were not only defending league champions; they are also defending state champions, with consecutive wins for the past two years.
“We put a lot of practice in,” said captain Chaston Abut. He attributed their win to the many hours of “practices, tumbling classes, and stunting classes” that enabled them to successfully combine their high-level tricks and techniques.
Coach Kealii said that, “It was a good performance, and super fun. It was [also] really nice being on campus.” Coach Kealli prepared the athletes by “lots of run throughs, full-outs and ‘crazy’ conditioning.”
Earlier in the day, the competition began with the junior-varsity cheerleading teams. The KSM cheer squad won first place with 268 of 375 points, and following were Maui (256.50), Baldwin (238.25) and King Kekaulike high schools (179.75).
The Kamehameha junior varsity squad put on a tight performance with some difficult formations and pyramids that gave them the edge.
Immediately after the JV portion of the competition there was a brief hiatus to allow time for the judges to tally up the remaining scores. After the break had finished, the varsity part of the competition began.
Up next for the Warriors is the 2015 Zippy’s Cheerleading Championships tomorrow, Nov. 13 at the Neal Blaisdell Center in Honolulu. The competition is being broadcast locally on OC16, and the squad is scheduled to be on the mat from 1:41-1:46 p.m. The broadcast begins at noon and will run for several hours.
Update: The Maui Warriors placed second at the state level with a score of 336.25 — a quarter of a point behind the state champions, Radford High School.
Zack Fasi • Nov 17, 2015 at 11:12 am
They should have won states, they deserved it, blew away every other school. Wayyyy better than Radford who wasn’t even that good.