Shortly after a second-place finish at the 6A state championship last year, senior captain Lindsey Noon said the team came up with a plan to help them improve for this year. 

“Last year when we found out we placed second, we started making a plan almost a week after state. It motivated us to do better this year and made us more aware of the competition that we needed to watch this year and to make sure we were up to the new standard,” Noon said.

Unlike years before, last year’s state competition was not in-person. Teams were required to film their performance at their school, send in the video and await their results. 

“I think our team thrives in a crowd. Our ability to show energy and encourage each other to be more energetic is one of our strengths, and having that competition last year in a virtual setting took some of that away,” head cheer coach Madison Llewellyn said. 

Another positive aspect of an in-person competition for the Huskies was the ability for fans to attend and cheer on the team.

“Having the student section there just made us a lot more confident and excited to show off what we had been working on. We asked a lot of people to travel all the way out there, and it made it a really good feeling knowing they wanted to come watch us and cheer us on,” Noon said.

In the qualifying round, the squads were judged on three criteria: Fight Song, Band Chant and Crowd Leading. Northwest finished with a combined total of 192.8, becoming one of six teams to qualify for the finals. Noon said the team worked on fixing some errors between the qualifying and final rounds. 

“After qualifying for finals, we had a lot of critiques that they listed during our prelims. We just had a couple of things we wanted to focus on when performing. We weren’t quite too sure what the end results were going to be, but when we stepped off the mat we knew we did the best we could have which gave us some confidence,” Noon said.

Llewellyn said the team was well-prepared and put in a lot of extra work outside of practice to get ready for the state competition.

“I think that they did an excellent job with their preparation, making no doubts in their minds that they were ready. They were watching videos outside of practice and putting in work at home to make sure they were the best they could be. This all came together to make them confident and ready to perform at their best going into finals,” Llewellyn said.

According to Noon, the squad’s strong chemistry propelled them to their success. 

“This year we had a really close team. We gave each other critiques and support throughout the entire season which made everyone much more comfortable. Being close and being able to help each other out I think really gave everyone the confidence we needed to look good and win,” Noon said.

This is the second state title for Noon and Llewellyn. Noon was a sophomore and Llewellyn was in her second year as head coach when the Huskies won the state championship in 2019. 

“Winning my second state title is a really good feeling. There’s only six or seven of us who were on the team two years ago so a majority of the team was even new to performing at that arena which made it even more impressive,” Noon said. “We’re also the first school in 6A to win twice so it is pretty cool to be a part of that.”

This is Llewellyn’s fourth year as head coach, making this group of seniors the first class she has coached for all four years of high school. Llewellyn said they are not only a great group of cheerleaders, but also show great character.

“If my legacy were to be summed up by one class, I would be so incredibly proud for it to be this class. They do a great job putting the team first and bringing out the best of every single individual on the squad. They realized that everybody has a different area where they shine and that we are at our best when we are able to amplify an individual’s strengths,” Llewellyn said. “I also know they’ve put in a ton of work. They weren’t slacking, they were the ones that were there early and they’ve done a great job leading by example.”

With it being her final season, Noon said she believes the program is set up for a successful future and hopes the seniors will leave a lasting impact on the team. 

“This year, one thing our coach always says is that leaving a good environment and team when you leave is super important. The captains this year really tried to focus on the team becoming super close and I think that is something that will carry on for the next couple of years after we leave,” Noon said.