DENVER — What started with thousands of competitors and 234 teams, ended with a dozen new state spirit champions.
Like every year, the state competition left us with a handful of repeat champions, as well as some newcomers to Colorado's elite.
In the 5A classification, Grandview bested last year's state champion (and crosstown rival) Cherokee Trail to emerge as the cheer state champs. The Wolves bested their competition by more than two points. Cherry Creek is back on top of the 5A poms mountain, edging Grandview who was looking to make it a clean sweep at state.
The 4A class saw two new winners. Erie won its first state spirit title in 4A, taking home the cheer championship. The Tigers edged runner-up Thompson Valley by less than a point. This was the second straight year Thompson Valley finished in second place. In poms, the Standley Lake Gators claimed their school's first ever state championship, besting Ponderosa who finished just 0.34 points.
After finishing runner-up in 2017, The Pinnacle is the 3A state cheer champion. They beat out Coal Ridge, Prospect Ridge and Resurrection Christian in the finals. In the 3A poms championship, University won its first title since 2016. SkyView Academy finished as runner-up.
Finally, the 2A classification brought repeat champions back to the forefront. The 2A cheer title went to Highland High School, marking their third straight victory in the category. Cheyenne Wells finished runner-up. In the longest run of current state champions, Vail Christian added yet another trophy to their cabinets, taking home the school's eighth straight 2A poms championship.
This year, the coed cheer competitions also saw three new winners. In the 5A class, it was ThunderRidge knocking off Castle View, who was in search of its fifth straight title. The Sabercats finished third behind Mountain Vista in second. Golden took home the school's first 4A coed cheer championship, besting Falcon by more than four points, and Coal Ridge are the 2A/3A coed champions, after beating out Strasburg.
After finishing second in last year's state competition, the Mountain Vista Golden Eagles are the new jazz poms champion, beating Chaparral 94.80 to 93.47 points.
Lastly, it was a repeat in the hip hop competition. Once again, Broomfield took home the championship in one of the closest races of the night, edging Monarch by 0.29 points for the crown.
Watch the video for highlights from the 2018 State Spirit Competition. For a full list of winners and results, click HERE.