The Moanalua cheerleading team changed its routine from a week ago and wound up nailing it Saturday.
Na Menehune won the large division at the Zippy’s/HHSAA State Cheerleading Championship at the Neal Blaisdell Center.
Moanalua scored 520 points in the five-team large division (12-20 squad members). Mililani, the two-time defending division champion, placed second with 511 and Punahou was third with 477.
“We had to make a lot of changes from our last competition, but we were able to get to a point where they were calm,” said first-year Na Menehune coach Kaycee Kealoha. “They were super confident today and they knew what they had to do and they got it done.”
In its previous competition, Moanalua finished second to Mililani in the OIA championships.
Kealoha, a Na Menehune assistant the previous three years, said she felt the need to move things around to make her team feel more comfortable.
“It was a lot of changes from the beginning ’til the end, but this team has been cheering for a while so they know what to do and how to work with changes and we got it down in a couple of days, maybe three,” said senior Kamalani Newman.
The Moanalua roster included Logan Agcaoili, Autumn Arnold, Emma Rose Estacio, Nicole Lauro, Ashley Manz, Kamalani Newman, Lacey Wilson-Pena, Abrie Prinea, Bailey Prinea, Chadie Shiraishi, Jazlynn Tam and Kitanna Torres.
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