Despite entering Saturday, Feb. 6’s Class A State Championship with the lowest “seed,” Gorham turned in an exceptional performance and ultimately claimed fourth place. Lewiston took first at the competition.

“The performance was great,” said Gorham head coach Julie Dvilinsky. “[We went] from 12th to fourth.”

The Rams – who won the SMAA Championship back on Jan. 18 – finished sixth at Regionals on the 23rd. A single mistake in their routine cost them five full points, which dropped them drastically in the standings.

“It was a skill that just landed funny,” said Dvilinsky of the Regionals misstep. “One of our cheerleaders ended up touching the floor trying to catch our flyer.”

Still, their finish was good enough; it earned the Rams a States berth, which they weren’t about to fritter away. After Regionals, Dvilinksy conducted two weeks of two-a-days to sharpen her team’s physical skills and mentally prep for the pressure of States.

“We knew the competition at Bangor was going to be in the morning. So I had my team coming in at 6 in the morning, then coming back at 2 o’clock in the afternoon, after school.”

Come States, the Rams’ low finish at Regionals worked against them.

“The way the States lineup goes,” Dvilinsky said, “the order of performance is how you placed at Regionals. Because we came in sixth, we were the first ones on.”

Taking the stage first isn’t at all desirable for cheering squads. They enter the fray blind, not knowing what the opposition has on offer. Likewise, there’s a distinct danger that the judges – who also haven’t seen the entire field and don’t know its overall quality – will score conservatively early on.

“You don’t want to be the first team to go,” Dvilinsky said. “That’s the biggest disadvantage.”

Dvilinsky gave her kids the greenlight to cut loose.

“We told them, ‘You have nothing to lose at this point,’” she said. “‘You’re the first ones on. All you can do is put on the performance of a lifetime.’”

“And they did,” Dvilinsky said. “They went out there, they had fun. You could see it on their faces. The feedback I got from people in the crowd, even our competitors, was that…we captivated the crowd, we were breathtaking.’”

The Rams’ standout performance shot them to the top of the rankings.

“From what I could tell, we were in first place up until Bangor came on,” she said. “Bangor did a great job; they knocked us into second.”

Noble stood out, too, and dropped the Rams down another notch, into third. Critically, Gorham had lost a point for a single misstep.

“We had a girl put her hand down on a tumbling skill,” Dvilisnky said. The discrepancy helped shuffle the Rams into fourth, especially after Lewiston’s top-flight act.

Dvilinsky is proud of her entire lineup.

“They all gave it everything they’ve got,” she said. “They worked together as a team.”

The final scores were as follows: 1. Lewiston, 90.8; 2. Bangor, 82.1; 3. Noble, 78.5; 4. Gorham, 78.1; 5. Marshwood, 77.0; 6. Thornton, 76.3; 7. Brewer, 75.6; 8. Oxford Hills, 75.4; 9. Sanford, 67.7; 10. Windham, 67.5; 11. Brunswick, 61.8; 12. Mt. Blue, 56.5

Gorham’s performance at States qualified them for New Englands, slated for March 19 in Lawrence, Mass.

The Gorham Rams pose after their win at SMAAs. In front, from left, are Hannah Meserve, Mykaila Rush and Meghan Yaskula. In second row, from left, are Rachel Jean, Caroline Smith, Katie Baker, Tomi-Kate Oneil, Kelly Aube and Sally Aube. In third row, from left, are Mikayla Derosier, Maggy Aube, Brooke Hall, Meredith Dvilinsky, Olivia Garand, Isabella Solari, Jamie Carter and Samantha Robichaud. In back row, from left, are Maleek Dias, Gretchen Mueler, Nathan Brown and Lauren Nagy.