Champions do what they need to do to win.
As Howard's cheerleading squad endured a longer than normal wait before taking the floor to perform, they put aside all the "girl drama" the team had been dealing with during the days leading up to Thursday's Howard County Fall Cheerleading Championships.
"Literally, right before we went on the floor, we had an emotional breakthrough and we put everything aside," said Howard captain Briana Jackson.
The timing could not have been better. Howard opened its routine with a difficult stunt and built from there.
At the end of the evening Howard was named county champion. The Lions scored 133 points (out of a possible 150) on their routine.
It is Howard's third consecutive fall cheerleading championship. Glenelg (117.05 points) came in second. Marriotts Ridge (114.2) and Long Reach (112.9) followed. All four teams qualify for the South Region championship Nov. 9 at Long Reach. The top five teams there advance to the state championship Nov. 12 at Thomas Johnson High School in Frederick.
"This year was just a great year," said Howard coach Tori Halfmann. "We have so many talented girls. We have all stars, freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors. The girls are so talented and creative that our routine was really up to par this year."
Halfmann said her team has a very difficult routine. "The stunts and tumbling passes that we do are the most difficult that you can get for high school cheerleading."
Sierra Singleton, a Howard junior, admitted that there were "some bobbles, but we put out everything we had and we pulled it off."
"To win back-to-back-to-back is beautiful," Jackson said.
Howard finished second to Harford Tech at the recent Howard County Invitational.
Glenelg's second-place finish was the surprise of the championship. The Gladiators were ninth a year ago, and with a poor performance placed seventh at the Howard County Invitational.
"Glenelg for years couldn't get above ninth," said coach Barb Greulich. "The girls said we had the ninth-place curse."
That's over now. "We are moving up the ladder slowly but surely," Greulich said.
"I think the girls shined when they got on the mat. They just have a spark. We may not have the hardest stunts or the hardest tumbling but when they are on the mat they have the biggest spark."
The coach attributed her team's commitment to summer conditioning as one of the reasons for its rise in the standings. "The girls did running and a lot of muscle building. That really helped with our stunts," Greulich said. "And a lot of them dedicated themselves to extra tumbling and extra practicing."
County championship final standings: 1. Howard, 133 points; 2. Glenelg, 117.05; 3. Marriotts Ridge, 114.2; 4. Long Reach, 112.9; 5. River Hill, 111.45; 6. Atholton, 105.6; 7. Mt. Hebron, 100.5; 8. Oakland Mills, 99.45; 9. Hammond, 87.75; 10. Reservoir, 81.75; 11. Centennial, 77.65; 12. Wilde Lake, 76.95.