La Cueva goes back-to-back in Class 5A state cheer

It was perhaps not an altogether linear journey for the La Cueva High School cheerleaders.

But there are plenty of ways to arrive at your preferred destination, like the one the Bears found Friday night at the state spirit championships.

The Bears overcome some injuries, some illness, a girl who left the state, and simply adapted as they went along. It culminated with a second consecutive Class 5A state championship at the Pit.

“I think adversity is what set this team apart,” La Cueva coach Daniele Knee said. “We did have a lot of unexpected things. … But I do think, the big thing is, our focus was we have a job to do. We’re gonna show up and we’re gonna do our job.”

Nobody did it better through the two routines on Friday.

Even with a music issue in one of their routines, La Cueva still scored a combined 179.67 points. Cleveland (171.97) and Volcano Vista (167.27) also took home trophies.

“Getting this state title means so much to this team,” senior Reagan Harrison said. “I don’t think anyone knows how many hardships this team has gone through this year.”

Going back to back, she added with a smile, didn’t hurt one bit, either.

Knee said replacing athletes in cheerleading is not exactly the same as it is in other sports.

“Every position is very unique,” she said, “so when you lose somebody, you have to be able to replicate exactly that that person did. The hard part is not everybody can do every single spot on the team.”

Moreover, she said, there are constant adjustments, making the routines like a fluid puzzle, with pieces needing to be inserted and moved around.

“We have to change all of our formations, we have to change all of our stunt (work), we have to change all of our sign work,” Knee said. “When one person goes out, everything changes.”

One of the La Cueva routines was awarded 91.37 points, the highest mark any 5A team scored on Friday.

When the champion was announced on the floor, the Bears were sitting at the top of the arena on the south end.

“It was absolutely insane,” senior McKenzie Brewer said, adding, “you never know if it’s gonna be you or not. We’ve come so far this season.”

Knee took a practical approach to the day.

“I came in trusting that my kids could do their job and do their job well,” she said.

Hobbs won the 5A co-ed title, scoring 168.5 points for their two routines on Friday. Rounding out the top three were Centennial (164.73) and Organ Mountain (163.7). Albuquerque High placed fourth.

Lovington was the Class 1A-4A co-ed champion yet again. The Wildcats are on a fantastic run. They won it all in 2019 and have won state every year since, excluding 2020 when the pandemic forced the event to be cancelled. On Friday, the Wildcats finished exactly 13 points in front of runner-up Bernalillo, which narrowly edged Bloomfield for second place.

Joining La Cueva as state cheer champions were Taos (the Tigers have won five straight blue trophies in Class 4A), Cobre (3A) and Questa (1A-2A and a close margin of victory over Maxwell).

From the metro area, the only school in the other classifications to trophy was Valley, which placed third in 4A.

The dance portion of the competition is scheduled Saturday, and will run through mid-afternoon.