The high school cheerleading season is upon us. Conference championships have been decided and local teams will head to the Augusta Civic Center on Saturday to compete in the Western Maine regionals.

The Scarborough High cheerleading squad hosted the league event on Monday afternoon where they were one of the 16 teams competing in the Southwestern Maine Activities Association championship. And it just so happened that the Red Storm was the first team to perform and they set the bar high for the rest of the competitors the rest of the way, finishing second overall.

Scarborough’s routine was filled with plenty of energy and the usual dizzying display of tumbling that the Storm has come to be known for. South Portland’s cheering squad also came through with a strong display of solid stunts and vibrant dancing.

At all cheering competitions, the cheerleading teams have three minutes to impress a panel of judges and to show all in attendance that their hours of practice have produced a routine that includes loud and distinct cheers, creative dancing, rapid-fire tumbling and rock solid stunts. Some squads do any and all of these skills very, very well while other teams stick to what they do well looking to progress as a unit while trying to incorporate more of these necessary skills to their repertoire.

Only the top half of the teams qualified for the callback portion of the competition and the Red Storm cheerleaders found themselves in third place after that first routine. The Red Riots also made their way into the second round with an eighth place finish. (The teams all start back at square one as the first score has no effect on the final results.)

When all was said and done, it was the Hawks from Marshwood (151) who won this year’s title followed by Scarborough (141.5) and Biddeford (136.3). These same three teams have been going head-to-head-to-head for several years now. Last year, it was Biddeford winning the league championship with Scarborough second and Marshwood third. And then Biddeford went on to win the West A regional followed by Marshwood and Scarborough.

South Portland scored 103.7 points and finished in eighth place overall.

“They hit their stuff the second time and they had great enthusiasm,” said Scarborough coach David Mannette about his squad. “They really hit that routine for the first time today. Now it’s just practice, practice and practice. Our stunts are definitely going to be notched up and they’re going to be a lot harder for regionals. They’re going to be solid and creative.”

Scarborough and South Portland will get another opportunity to wow the judges at Saturday’s regional competition. The competition in Class A begins at 11:40 a.m. The top six teams at this weekend’s Western Maine Class A cheering event move on the state championship meet on Saturday, Feb. 9, at the Augusta Civic Center.

The Scarborough cheering squad includes seniors Leah Paris, Elizabeth Bolduc, Samantha Cofone, Brittny Silke, and Jacqueline Fournier; juniors Adair Doe, Lisa Bryant, Brandi Bradley, and Brianna Mancuso; sophomores Tori Fortin, Kara Johnston, Kayla Cobb, Shelby Dahms, Meagan L’Heureux, and Kirsten Crear; and freshmen Brooke Hall, Alex Wentworth, Kristy O’Halloran, and Sara Messer.

Scarborough is coached by David Mannette.

The South Portland cheerleading team includes seniors Alyssa Mira, Ashlee Miles, Brittany Quint, and Linda Morton; juniors Jessica Tripp, Katie Thayer, Adrienne Legere, Lindsey Woodley, Lizzy Harding, and Ashley Ballew; sophomore Stephanie Keniston; and freshmen Ciresse Phinney and Hayley Mulkern.

South Portland is coached by Tracy Romano.