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.
The Dalles scored a season-high 193.3 points to earn runner-up honors at the OSAA coed small division state championships Saturday at Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
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.
It is a new season for The Dalles Cheer team. And while the expectations remain high for the group’s state outlook, given past success, Saturday’s performance was historic on many levels. Competing in the coed small-school division for the first time in program history, The Dalles put together a third-place effort versus eight other 6A and 5A schools at the Pacer Invitational in Lakeridge.
With fires creating chaos around the Greater Columbia River Gorge area, The Dalles cheerleading squad approached last weekend’s National Cheerleaders Association Cheer Camp with heavy hearts. They dedicated their performances to those impacted. The Riverhawks fielded 31 athletes for action at their annual camp from July 17-20 at Oregon State University in Corvallis, as 14 members were nominated for All-American honors and a handful of others received various camp awards.
Up until last season, The Dalles cheer team had achieved consecutive state runner-up finishes and appeared to be destined to finally take that next step.
