Meade coach Tierra Snowden had an unusual idea to ignite her cheerleaders’ excitement for states.
They performed in front of the varsity football team after Monday’s practice — full-out, no stunts barred. At the end, Snowden recalled with a laugh, the football players “lost their minds.”
“That’s what y’all do?” they said. “I didn’t know y’all was that good.”
“We struggle at Meade with the student fan section. It’s a different environment than [other schools] that come with a full crowd,” Snowden said. “I think that encourages those teams, to know they’re there solely for you.
“I think that yesterday encouraged the team a lot. They’re still wishing you well, even if they’re not there.”
As this particular group of Mustangs grew over the last three years toward winning its first county championship, the cheerleaders developed their own bubble of support. It’s gotten to the point, Snowden said, where she doesn’t have to say a word to them before competition.
“If you turned the music off, you’d hear them screaming encouragement at each other constantly,” Snowden said. “That’s been the key to our success this year.”
When the Mustangs fell short to Glen Burnie at 4A East Regionals on Nov. 2 at APGFCU Arena, it was only by a point — about as close as it had been between the two at counties. Glen Burnie scored 116.1, the highest mark of both West and East regions. Broadneck also qualified for states on Saturday with 106.65 points.
“The fact that we did not have any deductions worked in our favor because a lot of teams did have a few minor ones,” Glen Burnie coach Jami McCoy said. “Other than that, everything was great. Everything ran smoothly.”
Meade tallied 115.1, good for second in 4A East and third overall. The nerves, Snowden said, muffled the Mustangs’ full execution of county-winning stunts just a bit.
But, she said, if Meade cheerleading has learned one thing, it’s recovery.
“It’s something we used to struggle with,” Snowden said. “By coming in second, it just geared them up for the state championships, to really push themselves to the next level.”
Meade is aiming for the school’s first state title since 2016 (unified bocce), and the first fall sports title since 1977 (volleyball).
“It’s the year of the underdog. I truly believe that,” Snowden said.
Glen Burnie knows a little bit about making history. It seems like eons ago now that the Gophers garnered their first state title in 2021, which ended Glen Burnie’s 22-year state title drought. Since then, they’ve stacked 11 titles: four state, and as of Saturday, seven regional.
It was only last season that the Gophers claimed the program’s first county championship outright. In the winter, they swept county, region and states.
Losing counties to Meade this season by a half point didn’t really faze them, McCoy said. And now, following regions, nothing will really change routine-wise between region and state, save for a few “upgrades.”
“My motto is don’t worry about anyone else, worry about yourself. Our goal is to hit every full-out to states,” she said.
McCoy looks at Meade’s novel excitement and remembers her own.
“I remember how great it feels, to finally win. I feel like it’s also like, to have lost counties then to win regionals, it’s a reminder how to be down and get back up,” she said.
Arundel wins 3A East
Arundel’s routines have consistently been good these last three years, Charli Finn said, but have only got as high as a silver medal. When her cheerleaders heard their name called last for 3A East region and erupted into a flurry of green glitter, she knew they unlocked the final component they needed: confidence.
“It just shows them that they’re capable. They can do it,” Finn said. “They’re due.”
Arundel earned 114.85 points to top 3A East, just slightly behind Linganore (115.5) overall in 3A. South River placed second (111.7) in 3A East to qualify for states, and Severna Park punched its ticket with 104.85 points.
Before counties, the Wildcats only competed in one invitational. So from their perspective, placing third was a successful on-ramp to claiming the region. They studied the scoresheets and internalized the judges’ comments.
Since, Arundel’s narrowed in on nipping and tucking the small details, especially in tumbling, its lowest score of the four sections.
“Stick and stand, knees tight, toes pointed,” Finn said. “And making sure we don’t make any visible transitions, too.”
At the same time, they’ve done everything they can to generate as much hype as possible before states: candy, theme days, the works.
“Morale cannot be higher,” Finn said.
Chesapeake claims 2A title
After Chesapeake performed, coach Lisa Elliott heard something she hadn’t realized she’d been waiting for.
“It’s the first time in a while we looked like good ole Chesapeake,” Elliott said. “It feels good because old Chesapeake had a lot of success.”
The longtime Cougars coach can easily keep track of her program’s state titles by the rings she’s accumulated — 19. She tries to ignore it all, though, only refreshing herself with the dynasty when she updates her spreadsheet.
With 115.3 points scored in 2A East, Chesapeake added its 19th region title (between fall and winter) to the pile. It would be easily for a team with this much history to sniff and move on, but lately, things hadn’t been so dominant for the Cougars.
Elliott reckoned the stumbles at counties could’ve been worse. Fourth place was “deserved,” and “fuel to the fire” for the next round. Chesapeake spent two weeks returning to foundational skills and fine-tuning every step while building back up.
“Were focusing on the energy, the crispness, without losing any difficulty,” Elliott said. “Nerves took over at counties. Raising team confidence has been the biggest thing.”
Notably, the Cougars’ flip-down, color-changing uniforms were missing from its last two performances, but the Chesapeake coach hinted at a possible return.
Northeast placed third in 2A East (110.5) and is the only other Anne Arundel qualifier. Elliott hopes that by Saturday’s end, there will be another set of county-based champions.
“How awesome to have 2A, 3A, 4A to come out of Anne Arundel County?” she said.
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