BRISTOW — McAlester High School’s cheerleading team set a preseason goal of winning Saturday’s 5A regional competition at Bristow. Instead, they finished fourth.
That fourth-place finish qualified the Buffaloes for this Saturday’s state championship at Oklahoma State University. And if the cheerleading team can bring home a state title, any disappointment felt at Regionals will promptly vanish.
McAlester cheerleading coach Ashlee Shumway said Saturday night her team both placed fourth and performed fourth out of a field of eight. Whereas in most sports, athletes who make mistakes can take comfort knowing there’s usually another inning or another set of downs, entire cheerleading seasons can come down to one performance.
“Two minutes,” Shumway said. “That’s all you get.”
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