Petaluma cheer team second in state tourney

Two years after winning the California state championship competition, Petaluma High School varsity cheer had another strong performance this year, finishing second.

The 2014 victory “was the first really big thing we had won, and not only did we win, but we won by a lot,” said head coach Christina Davis.

“This year was a great experience. Obviously we didn’t win, but we really did great,” Davis said.

The Petaluma girls improved over the course of the school year. Never before has more than half the cheerleaders been able to tumble. This opened up a number of opportunities, including more diverse routines.

The choreographer of five years, Conner Huber, put together what Davis called one of the best routines she has ever seen.

The team is captained by senior Gianna Ricci and juniors Kylie McCorkel and Ashley Estrada. The captains have the crucial role of leading the team to state. Davis praised these girls as “really impressive this year. I am able to look to them for assistance to help motivate the team and get things organized.”

McCorkel described the responsibility of her position: “There is a saying we go by which is ‘Be first, be last,’ which means lead your team in the right direction but always be the last to have their backs. I always put the team before myself and do what’s best for it.”

In the past, Petaluma’s toughest obstacle at the higher level has been facing some much larger schools. Right now it has 12 varsity girls, compared to some teams that have up to 30.

McCorkel emphasized that the unique Petaluma team “shouldn’t be counted out because of our size.”

In fact, it gives the girls an edge in terms of team chemistry when competing. McCorkel said they have “an intimate relationship with each other that larger teams don’t get. Our team is truly a second family. We work together perfectly.”

Nevertheless, 12 girls is a relatively small squad, and this poses a different type of challenge. “It’s a long season. It’s really hard to maintain your core group for that long,” said Davis.

She pointed out that, while Petaluma has few girls to choose its team from, some of the other schools in its class have 30 to 40 girls from which to choose their competitive 12.

Davis said changes were made in the Petaluma team that competed at state just two weeks before the competition.

“What they did was, really, really impressive,” she said. “They were really determined to do their best. Every single girl took what they had been told and applied it to their performance.

“The whole team is excited about future prospects. Petaluma cheer will have talent for years to come.

“Right now, we’re working with four freshmen on varsity, which is amazing,” said Davis.

“They are able to compete at the same level as the most experienced cheerleaders,” McCorkel said. “They are rock stars out on the floor, and play it like they’ve been on the team for years.”

In 2014, the girls were concerned about the competition due to some sickness, but they were able to resiliently push through and win.

They showed that same drive this year, but came up just short of another state championship.

Members of the team that competed at state were Ashley Estrada, Emily Vasquez, Bailey Husty, Bella Muniz, Monet Bennett, Ariana Rossetti, Gianna Ricci, Kylie McCorkel, Jasmyn Ross, Imogene Patterson, Elena Vasquez and Abbey Wenk.

(John Jackson contributed to this report.)