A scoring error is keeping Northeast cheerleading from competing in the Class 3A state finals Tuesday. Despite efforts by the Eagles to fight back, the governing body for state high school cheerleading is not budging.
After Northeast performed its routine at the Class 3A East Regional meet — one the team has been placing with through the fall and winter seasons — the Eagles were blindsided when they found out they’d been scored at eighth place, outside of the top-seven cut needed to advance.
The controversial score in question is in the jumps category: Northeast was given a 2.5 instead of what Eagles coach Katie Williams and several other Anne Arundel County coaches believe should have been a 10.
While Williams couldn’t get an answer from the category’s judge herself, she learned from reviewing the score sheet that “10” had been scratched out and replaced with 2.5, and the reasoning on the comments stated: Needed 75% of team jumping.
So long as a team completes three consecutive jumps with a minimum of three-fourths of its athletes on the mat, judges are meant to score an automatic 10. And that’s exactly what Northeast did.
Cheerleading is not a Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association sanctioned sport. By the law of the Maryland Public Schools State Cheerleading Committee, judges will not review footage to alter scores. In fact, there is currently no review process for scores at all. Rankings and standings are final.
Still, the Eagles have spread the video of their performance around social media to gain awareness for the obvious mistake. After tumbling to open the routine, 10 of 14 Eagles on the mat appear to jump three times.
But while cheerleading scores are inherently subjective, the judges’ opinion agrees with Williams.
An email sent to the Northeast coach by MPSSCC region directors Heather O’Brien and fellow region director Kari Ganske on Feb. 8 states: “We have reviewed your email and the video you provided, and although we agree that your team was scored incorrectly, the scores will stand both for placement and for seeding.”
Then on Friday night, O’Brien delivered more news to Williams.
The email read: “Unfortunately, we are unable to honor this request. The bulletin that the top seven teams in each division will advance, so only those seven teams have been added to the state schedule.”
MPSSCC state director Lynette Mitzel and region directors did not respond to The Capital’s request for comment.
Chesapeake coach Lisa Elliott is the Anne Arundel County representative to the MPSSCC and acted as liaison in communicating Northeast’s concerns to MPSSCC officials.
“They don’t overturn these things. So, I did the chain of command — my responsibilities as county rep. But my heart just hurts for her,” Elliott said. “Katie is a phenomenal coach and person, those kids are in this community. I’m heartbroken for her and that program. Rules are rules, but you don’t want to see this happen to anyone.”
By the time awards ceremony arrived Wednesday, Williams had been so sure her team had won she started filming her team’s reaction. Elliott felt the same.
“My whole team was ready to be excited for Northeast,” the Chesapeake coach said.
Northeast performed early in the day, which gave opposing coaches plenty of time to approach Williams with praise for how well her team performed, confident that they’d be taking home hardware, let alone punching tickets to states the following week.
The announcers called for South River to collect its bronze medals, then Chesapeake to claim silver. Both finishes made sense to Williams, though she would’ve maybe fit Bel Air somewhere in there too.
When they heard the other teams called, the Eagles were sure. Genna Richardson hugged teammate and fellow senior captain Katelyn Glerum the moment their routine had ended. All the broken bones, quits and other struggles they experienced had led up to this.
“We’d thought for sure we got top three,” Glerum said. “This was our best performance we’d ever done.”
Williams pulled out her phone to film. The cheerleaders noticed their parents did the same. Williams could see every team turn their heads to look at Northeast. Richardson turned back to mouth “I have a good feeling” to the basketball team, who came to cheer them on.
In actuality, if the 2.5 had been a 10, the Eagles’ score of 121.9 would have secured Northeast not only an advancement, but third place in the East.
The announcement of champion “Bel Air” elicited a collective gasp so loud that, for a split second, pity for how the champions would’ve received disappointment from the crowd swam through Williams mind. But then, her girls popped their heads up from their huddle with tears brimming their wide, shocked eyes.
“It mentally destroyed me,” Richardson said. “We’ve been through so much. It really sucks. I would never wish this on my biggest competition.”
The coach put her phone down and motioned her cheerleaders to congratulate the winners. But she could see it: other teams pointing their way. The second she could, Williams fled to receive and then scan the official score sheets in a distant bathroom.
“I didn’t want my girls to see me cry,” Williams said.
The Eagles received a 114.4 overall score — eighth place between the West and East regions, which are combined into one list for state advancements. First page, pyramid: zero deductions. 9.8, 9.7, 9.6. Next page: nines across the board. Then the last page, jumps and tumbling.
And there it was: 2.5, in purple ink, underneath the scribbled out 10.
That’s the issue. Williams and her team would never put up a fight if it were just a matter of subjectivity. The reasoning given for the change is simply incorrect. There were 10 Eagles jumping.
Maybe the judge truly miscounted, the coach said. But why, she asked, was it changed?
“This is often a subjective sport. Maybe they don’t like my hair or how I look and they might score me lower. But for you to perform well, to know you did everything you could,” senior captain Addie Fugitt said. “At the bare minimum, you just expect the judges to do their jobs.”
Northeast wanted to be brought in as a wild-card competitor for Tuesday’s 3A states, an eighth team. Class 4A, for reference, will have eight teams competing Tuesday because of a tie.
The Eagles cheerleaders shared their story on social media, where their competitors reposted it to advocate. They shared a petition to Change.org which garnered over 4,000 signatures as of Friday night. Williams organized her own petition asking for other 3A coaches to sign, stating they’d happily welcome Northeast to the stage next week. Chesapeake, Linganore, South River and Bel Air all offered their support.
But given the MPSSCC’s final decision, there will unlikely be any change for Northeast.
“It feels like I’m going to wake up from a dream,” senior Natalie Stencil said. “But the fact it’s something that never happens? Considering how well we did? That isn’t our fault.”