The Biddeford High School cheering team won the Class A state championship on Saturday. McKenney Photography
BIDDEFORD — A state championship is a goal most high school athletes can only dream of — but that’s exactly what the Biddeford cheering squad did on Saturday afternoon.
The Tigers won their first state title since 2014 when they knocked off defending champion Bangor during Saturday’s state finals in Augusta.
This is the sixth time that Biddeford has captured the Class A state championship.
“It felt really good. It felt like everything paid off, pushing through every practice and hard practices. It made it all worth it,” said senior Cassidy Mawhinney.
Biddeford junior Brooklyn Goff knew the cheer team had the potential to make history.
“We’ve been through a lot. People have sprained wrists and we still pushed through. We just really needed to all work together and realize how important teamwork was and that’s what’s going to get us the win,” said Goff. “When ‘The Climb’ (by Miley Cyrus) came on at awards. We were singing it on the bus and we were also singing it during our stretching time so when it came on at awards we were like, ‘It’s a sign, we won.’”
Mawhinney agreed with Goff’s remarks about the team’s bond.
“This is probably the best team that I’ve had all my years through high school. We all really get along and it helps,” said Mawhinney.
The Tigers clinched the top score from two of the four judges to finish with 92.7 points, ahead of Bangor (91.3) and Lewiston (89.9). Noble (86.3) and Brewer (85.8) rounded out the top five.
“We had no idea. It was too funny because we saw the Bangor coach put her thumb up like her score had gone up high and she was talking to her fans and I said ‘I don’t know if we have this,’” said Biddeford head coach Deb Lebel. “I went over and told them, “you better be happy wherever you place.” I didn’t know if we had first or second, I figured we were right near (Bangor). Then they called Bangor and there was only us left so we knew then. It meant a lot. We worked hard for this.”
After claiming the Class A state title, the Tigers will still continue to practice to get ready for the New Englands on March 30 in Rhode Island.
— Sports Writer Sienna Barstow can be reached at sbarstow@journaltribune.com or at 780-9018. Follow the Journal Tribune Sports Department on Twitter @JournalTsports.
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