Three solid rounds were not enough to get the varsity cheer team through to the state cheer finals, as they finished last at regionals on Saturday, Feb. 26.
The Wildcats finished with a score of 707.1176, but a last place finish could not damper the spirits of co-coach Shari Russell.
‘Even though we placed last, we are extremely proud of our team and how they performed on Saturday,? Russell said.
Oxford began regionals with 213.6, placing them 10th. After that, the sheer size and skill level of the other teams took over and the Wildcat’s slowly faded to the bottom of the standings.
They scored a 213.5176 in round two and a 280.0 in round three.
‘We know we need to advance in difficulty and continue to build our skill if we are going to be competitive in the region and state,? Russell said. ‘Our goal for the future is to continue to build, it just takes time.?
She added that watching the other teams competing at regionals was a great experience for her team. ‘You have to compete against the best to be the best,? she said.
Russell said this year has been a huge step forward for the cheer program at Oxford.
‘Our goal was to finally start throwing team back tucks in round two and we finally added them in at the end of the season,? she said.
The Wildcats began the season with only 10 tucks on the floor; by the time they hit regionals, they were up to 12. The tuck numbers should grow as the team only graduates two girls who threw tucks this season.
‘We hope to have team back tucks at the beginning of the season next year and continue to increase in size,? she said.
She added making regionals was only the beginning for the program, which competed in division one all year for the first time in school history.