Dimond Basketball Cheer has won state again, and Competitive Cheer (Comp) also won first in its division at the championship meet at South High School.

Basketball Cheer has always been strong, and this year was no exception, with Basketball Cheer performing a flawless routine and crushing the competition.

The win at state was especially sweet for the Comp cheer team, as they had gotten second place at regions.

“[When we lost regions] we felt robbed, so it felt good to come back [at state] and beat South at their own school,” Freshman Comp Cheerleader Ellese Chapados said.

Since South is Dimond’s major rival, it must have been particularly satisfying for Comp to beat them.

Aside from the competition, state was also a chance for the cheerleaders to see other teams perform.

“State was really fun because we got to see all the different teams and got first place in our division,” Sophomore Comp Cheerleader Izzy Work said.

Basketball cheerleader Rya Leonard agreed.

“What I really enjoyed about state was getting to be around the other teams and seeing what they accomplished over the year,” Leonard said.

Of course, having a great team only makes winning state sweeter. Both the Comp and Basketball teams are very close and supportive of each other at practices.

“I felt like whether we had good practices or bad practices, they were still constructive, and we still learned things and got better. I enjoyed my team a lot,” Sophomore Basketball cheerleader Cayla Hakim said.

Dimond’s comp squad finished state with a score of 74.75, and Basketball Cheer was the grand champion, with a score of 85.50.

The closest team to Dimond’s Comp cheerleaders was East, with a score of 63.50.

Even though Comp didn’t win state, they should still be proud of their performance, as they continue to perform better than most high schools in Alaska each year.

Basketball Cheer is also consistently strong, and virtually untouchable in competition. For example, Basketball Cheer finished the competition with their score of 85.50, while West High School only managed a score of 34.25 for its Basketball cheerleaders.

Having such strong cheer teams is also beneficial to other sports programs at Dimond, because good cheerleaders motivate the team and also inspire the crowd to support the home team.

Those who did cheer last year love it, and the freshmen who started this year are hooked.

“[I really enjoyed Comp Cheer] because it was just really fun. I really liked the attitude everyone had, and how they wanted be there [at practice]. The coaches also really cared and wanted to be at practice too, and it was awesome to have coaches that cared. I am definitely going to continue cheer,” Chapados said.

The best teams are happy teams, and it seems like the cheer teams have a special bond which allows them to out-perform other schools year after year. West and East take note: Dimond seems to have a winning formula of spirit, talent, and family that makes the rest of the Lynx proud.