After an entire year of standing on the sidelines supporting Perry High School, the Puma pom and Cheer team compete in the annual state competition and are given the chance to have their talents put on display.

Both programs came out of the competition improving dramatically in comparison to previous years, cheer rising to 3rd place, and pom up to 5th place.

Going into the competition, the only thing the pom team had on their mind was improvement. “We were hoping for eighth and that’s very hard because typically when you place initially in the semifinals it’s hard to move up,” says assistant coach Alessandra Barth. Nerves began to circulate between the team and coaches alike as their names were not called for ninth, or eighth, or seventh, and even sixth. When their name was finally called for fifth, the team was elated. “We placed fifth which means we made Perry history and we beat big teams like Chaparral and Xavier, who always place top five, and we knocked them out of the rankings” coach Barth said.

Cheer had their hearts set on bringing home a banner, however they too saw vast improvements in regard to their placing. Head coach Desiree Stinnett was extremely proud to see where her team ended up. “It felt really good to place third in the state. We have been working super hard and we have a really young team so getting better than we had been last year was really rewarding for us.”

Both teams walked away with an amazing performance on the state platform, however this is not the first time either team has showcased their talents. “Whether we are on the sidelines at a basketball game or practicing our technique, we are always here. We are kind of everywhere always, but in the background.” says Barth.

Both teams put in an immense amount of time year round, in school and out of school. Stinnett said, “We practiced six days over break, so three times each week. We also practice all through the school year Mon. through Sat. and they have extra practices on Wednesday nights. They tumble with a tumbling coach and they get private lessons. They run their routine over and over and over again just to make sure it’s perfect and make sure it’s hitting and they’re confident in everything so lots of hours go into it for sure”

Stinnett said, “[our success] proved that all their hard work was paying off.” These hours of practice have payed off and the teams hope to only improve in the future.