Lakeridge won the 6A Game Day division at the Laker Rumble this month.

BY NATALIE STAGER/for OSAAtoday

While some cheerleading teams competed in December, the competition season has ramped up significantly in January.

The countdown to the OSAA cheerleading championship on Feb. 13-14 is on, and teams are refining every detail and aiming to earn every point possible.

Kicking off the January competitions, teams took time out of their winter break to compete at the Tigard Takeover competition on Jan. 3. 

In the JV Traditional division, Tualatin had a strong start by placing first over Barlow in the JV Traditional Division. In the JV Game Day division, Aloha competed unopposed.

The varsity game day performances included two divisions with only one team: Cascade in 4A and Canby in 5A, so both teams took first place in their respective divisions. In the 6A Game Day division, the Warriors from Aloha came out on top, besting Barlow who placed second and Gresham who placed third. 

The three varsity traditional divisions of the day were 4A, 6A, and 5A/6A Coed. 

The 4A division came down to a slim two-point spread between first and third. Ultimately, Stayton came out on top, Cascade came in second, and Estacada came in third. 

Tualatin took the top prize in the 6A division with Barlow coming in second. Additionally, Tualatin’s coed team placed first in the 5A/6A Coed division in which they competed unopposed. 

The following weekend, teams took to the mat at Lake Oswego High School for the Laker Rumble and Thurston High School for the Colt Cheer Challenge.

At the Laker Rumble, the JV Game Day division included David Douglas and Ridgeview, with David Douglas besting Ridgeview for first place. In the JV Traditional division, Tualatin earned first place, Westview second, and Barlow third. 

The 1A-4A Game Day division saw Westside Christian take the top spot, with Gladstone in second and Molalla in third. In the 5A Game Day division, the top three was separated by only three points. Central ended up snagging the first place trophy, followed by Wilsonville in second and Ridgeview in third.

6A Game Day also proved to be a close call with its top three separated by only 2.5 points. In the end, the Pacers from Lakeridge earned the victory, with Forest Grove (second) and Newberg (third) close behind. 

In the traditional divisions, The Dalles competed unopposed in 1A-4A Coed, while Ridgeview placed first in the 5A division. Behind Ridgeview, Mountain View edged out Milwaukie for second place by only 0.5 points. 

In 6A Small, Newberg (first), Tualatin (second), and Westview (third) made up the top three. In 6A Large, Lakeridge outscored Sherwood to take first, and Tualatin competed unopposed in the 5A/6A Coed Traditional division. 

Meanwhile, at Thurston High School, Mountainside came out victorious in the JV Game Day division, followed by Crater in second and Caldera in third. In the JV Traditional division, Roseburg bested Mountainside to take the win. 

The 1A-3A Game Day division saw Rogue River earn the top spot, with Scio coming in second and Creswell in third. Phoenix outscored Mazama and Philomath and took first place in the 4A Game Day division.

The 5A Game Day category was split into three divisions: small, medium, and large. In the small division, Redmond placed first and Rex Putnam placed second. In medium, South Albany took the gold, followed by Churchill in second and North Eugene in third. Lastly, Crater placed first in the large division and Centennial placed second. 

Grants Pass won the 6A Game Day division outright, but second place was awarded to two teams who tied: Roseburg and Mountainside. Willamette followed in third place. 

The 1A-3A Traditional division champion was Pleasant Hill, with Brookings Harbor following in second and La Pine in third. 

Sweet Home was the only team in the 4A Traditional division, but five teams battled for the top spot in the 5A Traditional division. In the end, Crater was victorious, and Caldera (second) and South Albany (third) rounded out the top three. 

The traditional 6A divisions included Southridge (first), Roseburg (second), and Century (third) in small, while Mountainside competed unopposed in large. 

Lastly, Redmond took the win in the 5A/6A Coed division, while Marshfield placed second and North Salem placed third. 

The weekend of January 17th included three competitions: the Sweet Home Cheer Classic, the Lion Cheer Challenge, and the Gladiator Cheer Challenge.

Starting at Sweet Home, Lebanon took home first place in the JV division, followed by West Albany in second, and Roseburg in third. 

In the Varsity Game Day divisions, Scio won decisively in the 1A-3A division, besting second-place Creswell by 13.5 points. Rogue River followed in third. In 4A, the podium included North Marion (first), Mazama (second), and Molalla (third). 

The 5A Game Day Small/Medium division included a close battle between West Albany and Thurston, but West Albany ultimately snagged the win by one point, leaving Thurston in second place. In third place, there was a tie between Rex Putnam and Springfield.

In the 5A Game Day Large division, Crater showed off their game day prowess, winning the division with a score of 84.5. South Albany followed in second place, and Woodburn rounded out the three-team division in third. 

The 6A Game Day division provided another close battle for the top placement between Roseburg and Newberg. In the end, Roseburg was victorious, beating Newberg by one point. Willamette took the final top-three placement earning third place. 

The varsity traditional divisions included 1A-4A and 5A. 

Santiam Christian showed displayed their strength, taking first over second-place Elmira. Pleasant Hill scored enough to secure third place.

In 5A, which looks to be one of the closest divisions at the State Championships this year, we saw some of the top teams competing this weekend. Lebanon earned first place with an impressive score of 91.4. Second and third place were separated by only 0.4 points. Ultimately, South Albany took second place, with Crater, who is competing in the 5A Coed Game Day division at State, securing third. 

At the Lion Cheer Challenge, Mountainside stood atop the podium in the JV Game Day division, with David Douglas taking second and Ridgeview taking third.

The top three placements in the JV Traditional division were separated by only one point. Tualatin earned first place, beating second-place Mountainside by 0.3 points. Westview followed behind in third. 

The 1A-4A Game Day division included Baker and Portland Christian. The bulldogs from Baker ended up taking first place while Portland Christian’s Royals earned second. 

Wilsonville pulled out the win over Ridgeview in the 5A Game Day division, while Lakeridge won a close battle against Mountainside for first place in the 6A Game Day division. Behind Mountainside, Franklin secured third place. 

The varsity traditional divisions included a couple of teams who competed unopposed: Glide in 1A-3A and Newport in 4A.

In the 5A Traditional division, Ridgeview earned first place, followed by Milwaukie in second and Crook County in third.

In the 6A Traditional Small division, Westview and Tualatin contended for the win with Westview ultimately edging out Tualatin for first. Barlow took third place. 

The 6A Traditional Large division showcased four out of the five teams who will compete for the title at the State Championships. In this matchup, Lakeridge came out on top, followed by Mountainside in second, and Grant in third. 

The coed divisions included 1A-4A and 5A/6A. The Dalles was victorious over Astoria in 1A-4A, while Tualatin took first place in 5A/6A. Oregon City followed behind the Timberwolves in second, and McMinnville placed third. 

At Gladstone High School’s Gladiator Cheer Challenge, Tualatin took first in the JV Traditional division over Barlow, and Ridgeview, who competed unopposed, took first place in the JV Game Day division. 

The following teams competed unopposed in varsity divisions: Sheridan (1A-4A Coed), Tualatin (5A/6A Coed), Ridgeview (5A Game Day), and Lakeridge (6A Large). 

In the Varsity Game Day divisions, the top three teams in 4A were Philomath (first), Baker (second), and Pendleton (third). The 6A Game Day Small podium included South Salem (first), Aloha (second), and Barlow (third), while the 6A Game Day Medium/Large division champion was Lakeridge, followed by Newberg in second and Clackamas in third. 

In the varsity traditional divisions, Glide beat out Yamhill-Carlton for first place in 1A-3A, Sweet Home took first place over Cottage Grove in 4A, Ridgeview earned first and South Albany second in 5A, and Aloha earned the top spot in 6A over Newberg (second) and Tualatin (third).

It’s been a whirlwind of a month, and it only looks to get even more interesting in the next few weeks leading up to the OSAA State Cheerleading Championship.