The Brentsville District cheerleading squad earned the title as the school’s most successful fall sports program this past Saturday after tying Brookville for fourth place at the Group AA state championship.

With a score of 235.5, the Tigers finished only behind three-time state champion Briar Woods (259), Tabb (245) and William Byrd (240) at Virginia Commonwealth University’s Siegel Center arena.

"We hit our routine perfect," said BDHS head coach Taryn Witt. "I only had three girls on the team that had even been in the state tournament before."

Brentsville’s return to the title meet, its first trip to Richmond since the 2009 season, came despite the team sporting an 18-member roster instead of the typical 20.

In order to qualify to the second round in the 16-team field, Brentsville had to take a top-five position in round one.

"It was a hard position to be in, to be able to place and make it into the second round," said Witt.

The Tigers competed as the fifth squad to hit the mat and, according to Witt, performed most of its standard routine with some additional tumbling by junior Clarissa Duran and freshman Lauren Golden.

"It was interesting to see," said Witt. "It was their team members who encouraged them, really."

While it may be unusual to put a freshman into a prime showcase spot such as a lead tumbler, Witt explained that Golden is also a gymnast, so she has already acquired a certain number of skills.

Brentsville received more freshmen power from Skylar Meadows, who came back from a bruised collarbone to perform as a flyer.

Overall, the team largely "remained healthy" from the end of October to December, according to the coach, which kept them competitive throughout the post-season.

That became crucial as most of the team did not have experience of performing in the final round of the playoffs where the competition is stiff and judges critique each squad much tougher on average than at regions or districts.

For example, Brentsville third-place showing of 261.5 at the Northwest Regional meet would have been high enough to win states by 2.5 points over Briar Woods.

Yet all teams were under considerable more scrutiny in Richmond. Brentsville escaped out of the first round without any deductions for penalties but was docked six points in the finals.

Those six points would not have affected the Tigers’ fourth-place finish, though it would have created a separation with Brookville.

Witt explained that Briar Woods and Tabb won simply because they had the best routines.

"Our goal this year was, ‘We’re bringing Brentsville back to the state tournament,’" said Witt.

The team prepared with a shorter practice schedule than usual, opting for two-hour days instead of the typical three. That came partly out of necessity, since the winter sports teams needed gym space, but also not to overdo it on a routine that the members already know inside and out.

Just for fun, in a show of team unity, Witt mentioned the girls all got together for a day of spray-tanning on Thursday. By the time Friday came around, the cheerleaders entered practice "happy" and "having fun," according to the coach.

"It really wasn’t a stressful thing for them," she said.