Over the summer and fall, The Dalles cheer squad has been in the lab working on perfecting their routine.

On Sept. 22 at the OCCA Game Day Championships competition held on the campus of Willamette University, TD competed in three divisions and finished in second place in the band dance/situational cheer/fight song division.

Still acclimating to the tougher small coed division, The Dalles cheer squad is quickly showing that they are one of the top contenders in the 5A ranks.

Normally, dancers and cheerleaders perform at smaller venues in front of mainly family and friends. There are some nerves, some sweating and nervous anticipation, but the adrenaline is pumping. On Saturday, Dec. 8, 47 members of The Dalles Dance Club Academy were given an opportunity to show off a six-minute routine in front of a capacity crowd of 19,359 at the Moda Center in Portland during a Trail Blazers basketball game.