Last month, the Tigerettes were named the 4A mix state champions and 4A Pom state runners up. This is the first time in many years they’ve earned the title, having come in second last year and third before that.

Co-captain, senior Riley Noble, said it’s been a great year.

“There were 10 seniors this year, so that made it really special,” Noble said. “I feel like everything clicked during pom camp. I looked around and saw how good we were and how well we all got along.”

“Then throughout the school year we’d come in and practice every morning from 7 to 9. Even on the weekends, we’d come in and work hard.”

Coach Emily Orr said keeping everyone well was also a challenge.

“I feel like it wasn’t until the last couple of weeks that we actually had everybody at practice all at the same time with nobody out sick,” she said.

In the end, it all worked out.

“We performed really early the day of the competition, and we weren’t used to that,” Orr said. “In years past, we always performed in the afternoon. So we’d go up there, sleep in, and have a comfortable morning getting ready. Clearly, we do better when we get up and go.

“We performed at 8:45 that morning, and then the awards weren’t until 10 that night.”

She said the team pretty much knew they’d won when second place was announced.

“They only announce the top three teams, so when they called second place, we had pretty good feeling,” Orr said. “Of course, that could have also meant we didn’t place at all, but we all felt like the girls did a great job.”

For Orr, the win is bittersweet as she will be leaving after the end of the year.

“It feels amazing to go out on top, but it’s also bittersweet,” she said. “I love this program, and the girls. They worked really hard, and they didn’t ever complain about coming in early. I’m really looking forward to see what they can do with the new coach.”