It was a milestone weekend for varsity stunt as they competed in the fledgling program’s first-ever game.

BOHS stunt, in its inaugural season under head coach Stefanie Camarena, traveled to Hemet for the Big Orange Battle Tournament at Tahquitz High School on March 15 and 16. 

On the first night of competition, the Wildcats fell to Theodore Roosevelt High School, 20-9. Despite the loss, the team was encouraged by their program-debuting performance.

“Our goal was to get at least some points on the scoreboard because we were going against established stunt teams and we’ve only been at it for a short time,” Sophia Thompson, senior, said. 

Each game is divided into four quarters. The first quarter consists of partner stunts in which two to three groups compete against the opposing team. The second quarter includes pyramids and tosses; the third quarter involves jumps and tumbling; and in the fourth quarter, teams conclude the match with a combination of all skills. Points are awarded by judges based on which team better executed the routine. 

On day two, the team fell to eventual champion Adolfo Camarillo High School, 22-4. 

Nerves were a factor in the team’s season-opening weekend. “I think our future games will go much smoother because no one knew what to expect and everyone was antsy. So next game we shouldn’t be as nervous,” Madyson Liekhus, junior, said. 

“Orange Coast League is easier than the tournament, so [next] we’ll go against [athletes] with similar skills to us,” Thompson said. “These tournament teams have been doing the same routines for years, so their skills were better executed than ours. [But] our future games should improve now that we’ve gotten our [jitters] out.”

Thompson and Liekhus returned to BOHS from the overnight trip to some good news: Each of the athletes was named All-CIF Southern Section Division 4A for their varsity cheer seasons. 

The Wildcat stunt team next competes on April 15 at San Clemente High School.