For Marriotts Ridge seniors Brooke Lally, Rebecca Litwack, Stephanie Blaney, Alyssa Erb, Alexia Applegate and John McDowell, the last cheer competition of their high school careers was a memorable one.
Competiting in their first state championship meet, the Mustangs placed seventh of 13 entrants.
"For the first time going, we had no idea what to expect," said Marriotts Ridge coach Kelly O'Brien. "We had a great time and everyone was thrilled to actually be there.
"We're pretty pleased considering this was our first time. Even making the top seven is huge."
The Maryland State Cheerleading Coaches Association winter cheerleading championships were held Thursday at Westminster High School and the place was packed.
The Mustangs won the Howard County championship and then placed a close second in the South Region competition. Normally, the state meet is held a few days after the regionals, but inclement weather forced postponement of the North regional meet and that pushed the state competition from Feb. 11 to Feb. 16.
The delay had implications for the Mustangs. One cheerleader on the team was unable to participate due to a family obligation out of state. Marriotts Ridge had two days to make a change. Litwack was chosen to be the replacement flier in the team's one-leg stunt.
"She was awesome," O'Brien said.
"We gave it everything we had," Lally said. "We hit all our stunts and we got a 9.5 on our cheer and emotion and that's the highest we've ever gotten."
While the Mustangs placed seventh as a team, they did receive some individual glory. Lally earned one of three non-refundable scholarships offered by the Maryland State High School Cheerleading Coaches Association. She placed second and received $500. First place ($1,500) went to Kaitlyn Palmquist of Westminster and third ($250) went to Samantha Strater of Broadneck.
The awards were based on grades, an essay, a videotape of the cheerleader's talent and two letters of recommendation highlighting community service and extracurricular activities at school.
"This was the first scholarship I've ever applied for, and it was overwhelming at first," Lally said. "There were a lot of different requirements."
"We wanted a well-rounded student," O'Brien said.
Lally knew going into the meet that she was a finalist, but she didn't know where she placed until the announcement was made.
The order of finish among the teams was: 1. Harford Tech, 137.10; 2. Eastern Tech, 134.9; 3. Chesapeake-AA, 130-8; 4. Hereford, 125.5; 5. Westminster, 122.7; 6. South River, 120.75; 7. Marriotts Ridge, 119.6; 8. C.M. Wright, 116.7; 9. Broadneck, 114.5; 10. Perry Hall, 107.15; 11. Bel Air, 103.8; 12. Linganore, 102.65; 13. North Point, 90.8.