The results of the Class 2A cheer regional in Chickasha had Amber Hobgood scratching her head.

A co-coach for Cashion along with Casi Williams, Hobgood felt her team had performed a difficult routine rather well, but the results and the score didn’t reflect it.

Cashion left nothing to chance for state…and it was a golden decision.

The Cashion High School cheerleading team is a repeat Class 2A state champion. The squad nailed its routine Saturday at Union High School in Tulsa and was awarded 248.8 points by judges.

That was 5.8 more points than runner-up Hinton and 11 more than third-place Okemah.

Now Cashion, which had never won a cheer title before last year, has three straight: the two competitive cheer championships with last year’s Game Day state championship wrapped in between.

“It’s crazy to think 10 years ago when we first started competing, our most elite tumbling was squad round-offs and now our tumbling is insane,” said Hobgood. “Our stunts and pyramids are so much harder.”

And that was why Cashion was partly mystified the week before with its score at regional.

Hinton won the regional as judges awarded its routine 253.4 points.

Crescent was the runner- up with 235 points and Cashion took third with 231.6 (the regional champion and runner-up automatically qualify for state while any team that scores at least 225 points also advances).

Hobgood admits her team’s score had most in Cashion puzzled because the routine difficulty and her team’s performance was worthy of a higher score.

“But it did serve as motivation for our girls, especially our seniors who wanted to perform the very best last time around,” Hobgood said.

So in the week sepa- rating the regional and state, Cashion added some stunts and movement to its routine to add to the difficulty.

Finding the time to do so wasn’t exactly easy.

The team had to work its practices around an additional game the softball team picked up plus the softball regionals (some cheerleaders also play softball).

So, Cashion cheer added three morning practices.

It was also homecoming week in Cashion: The annual “powderpuff” football game on Wednesday, the homecoming parade and rally on Thursday and the homecoming football game on Friday night.

“We even added a quick practice after the football game on Friday to do some extra work and it seemed to help,” Hobgood said.

The warm-up prior to the routine on Saturday didn’t reflect it.

“Our warm-ups were rough,” Hobgood said. “We had a girl over-rotate, fly off the mat and lose her shoe.”

But the team settled down when it was time to perform on the biggest stage.

“After our scoring at regionals, the girls were hungry. They wanted that state title,” Hobgood said.

The team had a couple of minor timing issues, but nailed all the major stunts.

“They performed lights out in the final when it mattered most,” Hobgood said.

As the top teams were announced, the OSSAA announces the state champion last.

Once again, “CASHION!” boomed through the speakers at the UMAC.

Seniors Bella Butler, Chevy Eubanks, Abby Hobthe good, Sierra McCracken, Story Pfenninger, Mackey Roper, Landrie Shackelford and Megan Shafer went out on top.

They were joined in celebration by juniors Jayce Bradley, Kylie Henson, Hadley House and Kyndal Isom; sophomores Dylan Ahem, Ruby Carson, Blake Cavner, Olie Hostetler, Ruby Hudson, Adalynne Poston and Sadie Weaver; and freshmen Emerie Eubanks, Reese Hobgood, Khloe Kastner and Kate Nabavi.

There are two sets of sisters on the team: senior Chevy Eubanks and freshman Emerie Eubanks and senior Abby Hobgood and freshman Reese Hobgood.

The latter two are the daughters of Hobgood the coach.

“I thought last year winning with my one daughter on the squad was pretty special, but having both my daughters on the mat with me…I can’t even put into words,” said Hobgood.

“I might have gotten a little emotional once our name was called!”

However, Hobgood said the program is about much more than those who carry her own name. The standard of excellence has been built over a decade…by many.

“Casi and I are so proud of this program we have had such a small part in helping build,” she said. “Any athlete who has put on a Cashion cheer uniform has had a part in making this program what is today.”