The Philomath High School cheerleading team had its highest placing at the state championships in its history Saturday with a third-place trophy.
The Class 4A competition, hosted by Oregon City High School, featured 13 teams in the traditional category. Newport took first with 107.10 points, Sweet Home was second with 102.20 and Philomath was third with 96.80, edging fourth-place North Bend by three points.
“Everything you do in cheer, every practice, every game, every performance, your entire season comes down to 2 minutes and 30 seconds to prove yourself. That’s it. No second chances,” PHS coach Kathy Kohler said. “So when we say to leave it all on the mat, it means to give it your all. Leave no regrets. These girls did just that.”
Nine athletes took the mat for the Warriors — juniors Cali Cannon, Kaylie Kohler, Olivia Rice, Tatum Pope and Zoe Ringwald, sophomore Josey Schreiber, and freshmen Emily Garcia, Erynn Kohler, and Ciara Seits.
“They worked through struggles, setbacks, multi sports and pushed through and earned that trophy,” Kohler said. “They performed wonderfully!”
The top three teams in the final standings had one thing in common — no penalty points.
“We hit zero which means we did a clean routine with no safety violations as outlined by the OSAA and NFHS,” Kohler said, referring to the Oregon School Activities Association and the National Federal of State High School Associations.
Philomath’s previous history in state cheerleading competitions included three seventh-place finishes (2008, 2020, 2023) and a 15th and 21st in the all-classification coed category.
In addition to the nine cheerleaders that took the mat, freshman Paige Ehlers served as an alternate. Student managers are Lilia Leman, Laighla Hockema, and Hailey Williams. Assisting Kohler with coaching are Shanon Rice, and Corren Webster.
