Centennial looks to challenge competitors in the 6/5A Game Day division.

Coaches have taught the skills, worked the routines, studied videos and spreadsheets, and the only thing left is to hope that the work will be enough to achieve their goals.

The OSAA cheerleading championships are Friday and Saturday at Oregon City High School. Friday will include all of the Game Day divisions and Saturday will include all of the Traditional divisions.

The 4/3/2/1A Game Day division includes 13 teams this year. Baker and Westside Christian have been scoring highest during the last few weeks of competition, but Scio has shown potential to reclaim the top spot.

There are a whopping 25 teams in the 6/5A Game Day division: 10 5A teams and 15 6A teams. Many feel this should be two separate divisions, and there are front-runners from each classification. In the 5A division, Central and Thurston have won the title before, and they are duking it out for another chance for the top spot. In the 6A division, Mountainside and Lake Oswego, both new to the State Game Day division, are proving to be the strongest contenders. Time will only tell which classification will bring home the win.

Saturday's competition will kick off with the 6A Small and 4A Traditional divisions. Newberg has gone undefeated throughout the season in the 6A Small division, but Sherwood has yet to compete against them. The question of how these two teams will stack up against each other will only be answered on Saturday. In the 4A division, it will be a rematch between Newport and Sweet Home. Both teams are doing difficult skills in their routines, so it will come down to performance and execution.

The next divisions competing on Saturday will include 4/3/2/1A Coed and 5A Traditional. Reigning champion and top contender, Gladstone, has only competed against The Dalles and Estacada in this division, so it will be interesting to see how they stack up against the other six teams. Reigning champions, Crescent Valley, and former champs, Lebanon, are going to give us a good show in the 5A division. It has been back and forth between the two teams all season, and it will likely be a close one on Saturday.

The final session will include the 3/2/1A, 6/5A Coed and 6A Large divisions. In the 3/2/1A division, reigning champions, Yamhill-Carlton, and former champs, Santiam Christian, will likely be fighting for the top spot. It may come down to which team is the cleanest at the end of the day. Tualatin is hoping to win their first state championship since 2020 in the 6/5A Coed division, but challengers Oregon City and West Albany have been working hard to take that top spot. Reigning champions, West Linn, and former champs, Westview, appear to be fighting for the top spot in the 6A Large division. However, with a solid routine, Lakeridge could be a surprise contender.

With over 100 teams competing for about 25 state trophies, about 75 percent of the teams will receive no award. Many teams have the goal of a state trophy, and that will not be achieved this season. The only hope is that every team hits clean and the judges get the scores correct. There will be a lot of pressure for this to happen on Saturday, and we can't wait to see who will walk home with the blue trophies this year!