Girls varsity stunt played this past Saturday, May 4, 2024, in the Division One Central Section CIF against the Atascadero Greyhounds in the semi-finals, 13-11, and the San Luis Obispo Tigers in the finals, 14-13, beating the tigers in an overtime battle to secure the title. The Bearcats placed first in league this past season and were determined to win back the CIF title from the Tigers, who had won the previous year. The girls will be playing in the state tournament Friday and Saturday, May 10-11, against the winners from all the other sections in California.
Arriving early in the morning the Bearcats were ready to face the Greyhounds on their home turf, where the tournament was taking place, playing the first game of the day. They dominated the first half of partner stunts and pyramids and tosses, approaching the second half with a comfortable lead. As the second half began the gap started to close, and when the fourth quarter arrived the Bearcats gave everything to beat their long-time rivals, 13-11 cementing their place in the finals and moving onto the state tournament no matter what. With an hour break between their next game the ladies stayed and supported the other teams in the semi-finals, the Arroyo Grande Eagles and the Tigers, with the Tigers moving onto the championship by one point.
The game started with Paso Robles calling routine four, taking the point, SLO calling routine two, which resulted in a tie, Paso calling routine three, taking the point, and SLO calling routine five, fully taking the point. At the end of the first quarter the score was 3-2. The second quarter began where the Bearcats called routine six, earning the point, the Tiger called routine two, tying the point, the cats called routine five, where SLO took the point, and lastly routine four was called from SLO and Paso took the points. The score going into halftime was 6-4, being one of the closest games of the season for the Lady Bearcats.
Going into the third quarter the Tigers took all available points, bringing the score to 6-7. As the Bearcat sideline rallied the fourth and final quarter began. The first level of the quarter was level five, in which the Tigers took two points and the Bearcats took one. In the next round, San Luis took two of the points while Paso took none. The third round came, and the Bearcats took two of the points and SLO took one. Being down 9-12, in the final call of the game Paso had the choice, choosing routine one, needing to take all the points in order to force an overtime, which did happen.
As a result of the overtime routine two would be played, which the Bearcats had done previously in the quarter already, earning two of the three points. The crowd chanted and counted alongside the ladies both on and off the mat. The official approached the center panel mat, giving Paso the first point and then San Luis the second, coming down to the third and final point, the official’s hand signaled towards the Bearcats cementing a victory 14-13 in overtime.
“This is an incredible win for the Varsity Stunt Bearcats and the amazing town we represent. We came in second place last year for CIF and to be able to bring this win back home is truly an honor. I could not have done this season without my amazing coaching staff and the support of the athletics office.” Head Coach Vanessa Espinoza said, “It goes without saying, that the effort and determination shown by the athletes is what lead us to this remarkable triumph in our league. I cannot wait to see what our team brings to the State competition this weekend!”
This is the second CIF title for the program, earning it in 2022, and will participate in the California High School Stunt State Championship May 10-11, being ranked eight out of 13 teams. They will battle Westpark High School, ranked nine.
Photo Credit: Bob Mahoney
