The Bremerton Knights cheerleading team will be competing at the national level for the first time in school history after bringing home their third consecutive state cheerleading championship at Battle Ground High School Feb. 6-7.

In the 4A/3A/2A tumbling category for medium-sized teams (15-19 participants), the Knights led with 88.8 points, ahead of runner-up Mount Spokane, which scored 83.1. The team will now participate in a national school cheer competition in Las Vegas, which takes place Feb. 20-21 at The Orleans Hotel & Casino.

The Knights’ state championship-winning roster consists of Liz Andrews, Kali Christian, Chloe Cleveland, Marley Cox, Indiya Crozier, Camilla Herdman, Asti Jennings, Georgia Kibbe, Payton Littleraven-Oliver, Alexa Parker, Sirreh Rasmussen-Sonko, Jossiana Rasmussen-Wright, Kylan Shead, Mandy Swinehart, Adaiya Thomas, A’nya Thompson, Taya Walton, and Khyli Wilcher.

The year prior, the Knights had seven seniors graduate, which provided a challenge for the team to try to overcome this season.

“We had a lot of seniors last year, basically we had lost a big part of the team,” Cleveland said. “So we started this year with a whole bunch of rookies, and we got to get this team in shape.”

The Knights kicked off practice for this season in June, practicing all summer to help the newcomers on the team “understand the basics” and establish a base and foundation for winning a state championship.

Bremerton head coach Jennifer Owens considers herself to be an “over-preparer.” If there’s a stunt that Owens isn’t confident the team could perform, she won’t put it on the mat. Owens wants the Knights to have confidence in their routines, whether they’re new to the team or have been with the team for their high school tenure.

Practice for the Knights is about three hours long. At the beginning of practice, they roll out mats and go through their opening stunts, allowing themselves to warm up and prepare for intermediate stunts and the remainder of their routine.

During practice, the Knights will listen to artists like Usher and Kendrick Lamar to perform to. Coach Owens, per Cleveland, will take chunks from different songs and merge them together, also including sound effects in the background.

“I build my own routine, I’m my own choreographer,” Owens said. “I make my own music, so I have full control over the routine, but knowing those rubrics, I know what my start values are going to be, so I choose the hardest set that my kids can hit and execute.”

Owens noted the team is making a couple of edits to their routine to try and be more competitive at the upcoming national competition, but she also added it’s going to be a learning experience for the squad.

“It’s our first time going, and so our community is so great and supportive,” Owens said. “They’re just so excited for us to have this opportunity.”