Yelm High School cheer secures fourth, seventh at state competitions

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Yelm High School’s cheerleading team capped off its inaugural 4A season on a high note, as the team finished in fourth place in the 4A traditional event and seventh place with its gameday group at the 4A State Cheer Competition on Friday, Jan. 24, and Saturday, Jan. 25.

Tornados head coach Madison Hummel said the team was there from 4 p.m. to 11 p.m. on Friday and from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturday, which made for a long weekend. She added that 14 girls competed in the traditional team event on Friday, and 19 competed on the gameday team on Saturday,

“The fourth-place finish was huge. It was a big deal. With us moving up into 4A, we went into a pretty heavily dominated division where the teams that win, they always win. It’s the same people. For us to finish in that top four spot was a huge accomplishment. Those girls fought all season long. Our first competition we didn’t qualify. Our second competition we still had some issues. That third competition was state. That was the first time they’ve hit their routine, and they hit it with an 11-point jump,” Hummel said. “For us as coaches, we’re really proud of this group of girls. They worked really hard and put in a lot of hours throughout the nine months they cheered. It’s definitely one of those sports where you have to be all in, or it won’t be an enjoyable sport for you.”

She added that finishing in fourth place in the traditional competition event was a “huge deal” to happen at state, considering it’s the team’s first year in the 4A classification. The team entered the state competition this year with a chip on its shoulder after “not doing too well” at the state competition last year.

“The gameday division was a huge division all season long. Those girls fought hard, and they finished in those top spots all season long,” Hummel said. “To finish in the top half of that division was a huge accomplishment. We took seventh place out of a lot of teams. It was a big accomplishment, and we as coaches are super proud.”



Tornados assistant coach Kennedy Villeses said the state experience was “super surreal” all weekend long. She was thrilled to see seniors Coral Ogle, Brooklyn Martin, Caidense Bohl, Marlee Sell, Cora Hobbs and Kendra Behrend finish on a high note after all of the hard work they’ve poured into the program.

“We’ve had a couple of our girls with us since we started as head coach and assistant coach in this program. Just getting to watch them finish out their senior year, and finish it out proudly and with confidence, was special,” Villeses said. “They did something for this program, and helped put this program on the map. That was the biggest blessing that we could’ve ever asked for in this specific season. We’re excited to keep it going and keep climbing up that ladder.”

Villeses said the cheer program received greater support this season from administration and coaches at YHS. She said she’d like to see the support continue to grow.

“This year, there definitely was a little bit of change in the support we had: Rob Hill, Jason Ronquillo and Daniel Caldwell — whose daughter is on the team — so that helped. But we experienced a lot more support this year, and we’re hoping to keep that going,” Villeses said. “It is helpful that people understand and realize what we do here isn’t just fun and games. We love doing this. It’s definitely a passion sport, and a lot of work goes into it.”

Hummel said that the team’s season will conclude after this week, but tryouts for the 2025-26 season will take place in April. Following tryouts, the new team will begin training in May and practice through the summer.