Cranton East Cheerleaders Save Their Best for Last

With the state championship on the line, the Cranston High School East cheerleaders rose to the occasion on Saturday in front of a spirited audience at the Providence Career & Technical Academy (PCTA).

The Thunderbolts performed their best routine of the season, earning second place in the Large School division and the fifth highest score overall out of 26 teams.

“We have a very experienced team that thrives under pressure,” said head coach Jennifer Koscho. “The scores reflected how well we did and how hard we worked.”

Tolman High won the Large School division for the second consecutive year, edging out East by five and a half points (167-161.5).

East entered the state championship with momentum. A few weeks ago, the Thunderbolts won their division and the overall title at a competition in Cobleskill, NY.

On March 5, East captured first place at a competition hosted by Mount St. Charles. That marked the first time this season that the squad finished ahead of Tolman. On March 6, East placed second at the Rhode Island Cheerleading Coaches Association competition.

“We’ve had some good practices and competitions in recent weeks,” stated Koscho. “The turning point was the trip to New York. That’s when everything started to change for the better.”

As confident as the Thunderbolts were headed into the state championship, they still needed to have a clean routine on the biggest stage of the year.

“Last year we finished third, but only a couple of points out of first,” recalled Koscho. “We lost six points because of penalties and that’s been in the back of our minds.”

On Saturday, East pulled off a penalty-free routine. Tolman’s routine was also error-free.  The biggest discrepancy between the two scores came in the gymnastics category, where the Tigers outscored their opponent 16-13.

Cranston East, along with the top two performers in each of the divisions, will compete in the New England cheerleading championships, which will be held at the PCTA next weekend.

“The New England competition is actually the most laid back event of the season,” said Koscho. “It will be a chance for us to celebrate how we did in Rhode Island.”

Prior to the varsity teams taking the matt on Saturday, the junior varsity teams battled for the state championship in their division. Cranston East finished third out of the four teams, 17 points out of first.

“Our JV team improved so much this year,” said Koscho. “Their scores at the end of the season almost doubled what they were at the beginning of the season.”