Fossil Ridge wins fourth straight UIL cheer state title, Paschal captures its first

For the fourth straight year, Keller Fossil Ridge won the UIL state co-ed cheer championship. The Panthers captured the title on Saturday at the Fort Worth Convention Center.

Ridge edged out Fort Worth Arlington Heights.

The Panthers finished with a score of 92.53.

The Yellowjackets finished with a score of 92.03.

“There is a lot of pressure staying on top, but it takes a lot of hard work from the coaching staff and every athlete,” Ridge head coach Victoria Butler said. “Trying to be more creative and creating something they haven’t seen before.

“Super blessed to win.”

Ridge includes assistants Staci Murto, Brandon Butler, Kaitlyn Lowery and Autum Pinkerton, and student-athletes Madelyn Arnold, Jacob Biel, Mia Canada, Josh Caster, Maxene Colocado, Jadyn Cunningham, Jordyn Cunningham, Amirpasha Esmaili, Macy Forbes, Jayce Fuller, David Garay, Madison Garcia, Emily Hibner, Johnny Hernandez-Lizcano, Samantha Hurst, Timh Ibarra, Kiara Jones, Jordyn Joyce, Kaylei Maine, Dariah McGee, Ella Montes, Lexis Pacheco, Skylar Partin, Natalia Portalatin, Daisy Redd, Reyna Sadler, Michael Salazar, Ciara Sanchez, Alexis Shaver, Ethan Vasquez, Morgan Walker, Kaylie Williams, Camrynn Wimberly and McCrae Wise.

Ridge graduated 18 seniors from last year’s team.

“There has been a lot of rebuild this season, but this team is dedicated and pushed to continue the legacy,” Butler said. “We cheer and support for our other teams, but the UIL is our one chance to show people what we can do. They can do athletic things and the competition is our chance to shine and put competition cheer on the map. We want to show people that cheerleading is a lot more than jumping with pom-poms on the sideline.”

Butler said that the judges didn’t care for the team’s performance during the preliminary round.

She said she had to do something different that was more crowd pleasing and choreographed a whole new routine in 45 minutes. Her team listened, executed and ended up winning.

Ridge will compete at nationals in Orlando.

The Panthers have come in second place at nationals each of the past three years.

Azle came in fourth place of the co-ed championship (90.07) followed by Weatherford (87.13). Brewer also participated in the co-ed final.

Winners in the following classifications include Tomball Memorial (6A D1), Fort Worth Paschal (6A D2), Friendswood (5A D1), San Antonio Alamo Heights (5A D2), Mabank (4A D1), Lago Vista (4A D2), Mount Vernon (3A D1), Jacksboro (3A D2), Falls City (2A) and Munday (1A).

Paschal won the title for the first time in program history. It’s also the first time for any Fort Worth school.

“The girls have constantly built up our community and pyramid for our school. They’re always uplifting other people so this is their moment to show off their sport,” Paschal head coach Alejandra Saenz. “We competed against 74 teams and the judges liked us. It’s huge for our community. Not sure when the last time Paschal won a state championship. It would be cool to know.”

The Panthers edged out defending champ Byron Nelson 92.63-92.20. Chisholm Trail came in seventh place in the 6A D2 final. Mansfield and Arlington Lamar were also finalists.

Paschal’s team includes assistants Tori Reimann, Patricia Anderson, Catie Pfiefer and Ashley Johnson, and student-athletes Katie Adams, Tatum Aragon, Rylan Burns, Morgan Dougherty, Georgia Hardy, Hailey Hartung, Ella Herdman, Claire Hollis, Sarah Jackson, Addison Kerr, Karoline Litke, Indie Lopez, Maddie Matejka, Kate Pauling, Annie Pritchett, Jewell Rodriguez, Meggie Rooney, Megan Seeds, Raney Smith, Kate Strange, Grace Turner, Ava Wamstad, Ava West, Zyanya Acatitla, Daisy Carter, Loni Chafer, Sophie Codwdin, Katherine Dailey, Hope Dietrich, Tessa Hardy, Jaeda Hunter, Madison Ledbetter, Etta Maddox, Georgia McCoy, Nadine Moreno, Mia Perry, Eliza Pitcock, Gloria Reynaert, Mackenzie Shores, Samantha Silfa, Finley Trest, Whitney Watts, Grace Welch, Eleonor White and Harper Williams.

Sanez and Reimann have been with the program for seven years.

Paschal has gone to the state competition seven of the past eight years.

“People see cheer as pom-poms and posters, but it’s more. It takes pure athleticism, talent, hard work and dedication. I love how the girls went out and won,” Saenz said. “It’s a great program. Cheerleading is hard and a sport. The girls did it incredibly.

“The response from our alumni has been huge and so sweet. We are happy our community and alumni get to share this victory. Our girls are so excited and proud to represent Paschal. These girls are something special.”

Eaton finished in a tie for second in 6A D1 with Katy Cinco Ranch.

Southlake Carroll and Timber Creek were also finalists.

Other Fort Worth-area schools to compete in the state finals: Birdville (5A D1), Granbury (5A D1), Cleburne (5A D1), Midlothian (5A D1), Grapevine (5A D2), Argyle (5A D2), Colleyville Heritage (5A D2), Kennedale (4A D1), Godley (4A D2), Glen Rose (4A D2), Brock (3A D1) and Grandview (3A D1).

The UIL state cheer championships began in 2016.

Azle won the large co-ed title that season. Azle also won in 2019. Byron Nelson and Birdville won in 2021.

Byron Nelson won the 6A D2 title last year and Grapevine took home 5A D1.