POULSBO — It’s all about the performance.

When all the separate individual talents of the West Sound Elite All-Star Cheer squad fused together over the course of countless hours of practice, the only thing left to do at the state championships was put on a show.

The WSE performance earned a state title in the juniors coed division, while the senior team took third March 25 at the Washington State Cheerleading Coaches Association championships at the University of Washington.

“You have a routine and you can hit a routine and that’s all fine and dandy but to be able to have your faces light up and have people be into you and clapping the whole time, that’s the hardest part, is performing,” said WSE coach Chris Ebert, noting that the WSE juniors team’s best quality in front of the crowd at UW’s Bank of American Arena was its peppy performance of the routine it had honed for more than five months.

“That’s what wowed everybody, great job on performance,” Ebert added.

But the impressiveness of the routine didn’t stop there.

This was a year of firsts for the WSE juniors team. It was the team’s first year under the guidance of new coaches Ebert and Jamie Cotton, Its first year competing in the coed — rather than the all-girl — division and its first year competing in a stadium-type venue.

While the atmosphere of the giant competition inside the Bank of America Arena overwhelmed some of the WSE squad, it also heightened its competitive edge.

“It was amazing seeing everyone there, all these teams that we’ve never seen before,” said WSE junior Janna Mae Ventura. “It was our last competition so we were looking forward to doing things that we hadn’t done before like beating other people.”

Nearly 80 teams from all over the state competed in 29 divisions at the WSCCA championships. The WSE juniors competed in the juniors coed division with only one other competitor, Shelton, while the WSE seniors competed in a field of three teams in the seniors coed division.

The WSE juniors’ routine earned an overall score of 233 points, topping Shelton who received 205. The WSE seniors were awarded 203 points on their routine, good enough for third place in the division.

“The unique thing about all stars is that each team does a cheer, but its in the middle of the routine and it goes with the music,” coach Cotton said, contrasting high school cheer in which the music stops. “Every team has their unique cheer that identifies who you are and what you’re all about.”

Along with their team rally cry, WSE’s juniors’ routine included stunts, jumps and tumbles in the midst of performing with a collective smile on the team’s face. And once the two and a half minute performance finished, the smile got even bigger.

“That’s probably the best feeling you get from cheer, is when you’re done with your routine and you’re just like totally everyone smiling. You’re jumping around and you don’t even know who you are hugging. Everyone’s hands are in the air … it’s crazy,” Ventura said of the aftermath of the team’s state champion showcase.

Now, the cheerleaders are back in the gym, training with hopes of feeling that way again. WSE’s season is nearly year-round, and the team already has competitions noted throughout its calendar for next year.

Try-outs for the new season will be WHAT TIME?? May 5 at the Breidablik Hall in Poulsbo.

“From that point on, everything is focused on the final goal of competition,” Cotton said.