The Kenai Central cheerleading squad won the Division II March Madness state competition Tuesday at the Alaska Airlines Center in Anchorage by performing their best when the pressure was the greatest.

The Kardinals have been a March Madness powerhouse since Brianna Force became the coach in 2018. That year, Kenai won the small-squad cheerleading title.

In 2019, the Alaska School Activities Association changed the way it classifies the cheerleading competition, going to a Division I and II format. The Kards finished second to Seward in Division II that year.

In 2020, there was no competition due to the coronavirus pandemic. In 2021, Kenai took the Division II title again in a virtual format.

Because Force did not have any freshmen in 2019 who are still on the team, all of Kenai’s cheerleaders were performing at state in front of an audience for the first time.

“It was the first season any of the athletes performed live in state competition,” Force said. “The advice I gave them was to have fun every single minute and they definitely did that.

“They executed a near perfect routine — one of the best performances I’ve seen them do all season.”

The competition has a game-day portion and a halftime portion. The game-day portion includes a sideline chant, timeout cheer and situational sideline cheering. The halftime portion is 2.5 minutes long, with a cheer and a music portion that includes dancing, stunts and jumps.

Force said the competition does not announce the scores of all the teams, instead announcing which teams finish first and second.

The Kards got that first place by overcoming the loss of five seniors. Force said junior captain Calani Holmes and senior captain Delaney Duck were instrumental in getting the new squad up to speed.

“We had quite a few new girls and they all stepped up and learned quickly and became a strong asset to the team,” Force said. “That played a huge factor in our overall success.”

In addition to Holmes and Duck, the team is made up of senior Karah Huff, juniors Kaitlyn Taylor, Genesis Trevino, Malena Grieme, Maya Montague, Brooklynn Reed and Annemarie Pienta, and sophomore Ella Romero.

Holmes and Duck also received the ASAA Basketball Sideline Cheerleader of the Game award while cheering on the Kenai girls at the Class 3A state tournament this week.

The Soldotna cheerleaders competed in the Division I competition but did not place first or second.

“The girls all came together as a team and did really well,” coach Melissa LaPlante said. “We stuck all of our stunts. Especially for being the first time going and competing, I’m really proud of them.”

LaPlante said the Stars also competed in the virtual competition last year and did not place. She said the cheerleaders really enjoyed getting to go to the tournament this year.

“The energy of going and participating is what makes it exciting,” LaPlante said. “The girls got to see all of the different teams and what they’re learning. When they go next year, hopefully they’ll get to see all the girls they saw this year, and how they are progressing and learning.”

Seniors Emylee Wilson and Taylor Bynum, and sophomore Danica Farrar, all were on the squad for basketball last season and for football this season.

Also competing at state were senior Italian foreign exchange student Damiana Coppola, juniors Eva Sorenson and Telotha Braden, and freshmen Hannah Burton, Gracie (Liv) Bras, Rory Jedlicka, Mazzy Bundy, Hailey Stonecipher and Taylor Ruffinger.

Freshman Angel Douglas and junior Nicole Tuepel were on the squad, but did not compete at state.

The Soldotna cheerleading team. Back row is Telotha Braden, Danica Farrar, Emylee Wilson, Eva Sorenson, Hannah Burton and Damiana Coppola. Middle row is Rory Jedlicka, Taylor Bynum, Mazzy Bundy and Gracie (Liv) Bras. Bottom row is Taylor Ruffinger, Hailey Stonecipher and Angel Douglas. Nicole Tuepel is on the squad, but not pictured. (Photo provided by team)