The Mascenic winter spirit team was on the verge of a Division III title heading into Thursday’s NHIAA championship meet at Pinkerton Academy. All the Vikings needed was perfection.
“If we hit everything tonight, perfectly, it was ours,” Mascenic head coach Amy Billings said after the meet.
The young Vikings, made up of six freshman, a sophomore and a junior, were the top seed following last Sunday’s preliminary round. But since 2020’s spirit championships were called off due to COVID and 2021’s title was determined virtually by video submissions, Mascenic’s roster had little-to-no championship competition experience, and nerves may have been a factor on Thursday night.
“They’ve never been to this,” Billings said. “It’s a lot of pressure.”
The Vikings ran through the bulk of their routine with ease, but when they began forming their pyramid for some aerial action, things went south, as Mascenic struggled to raise their fliers to the top, instead bringing them back down safely, but scoreless.
“They had a lot of pressure to come out here and hit it perfectly,” Billings said. “And they didn’t, and they knew it.”
Despite that difficult pyramid, the Vikings still scored an 86 – the highest score Mascenic’s ever had under Billings, save their 2017 championship-winning score of 87.3. Senior-led Littleton took first place, and Mascenic finished second – not a bad day for the young Vikings, despite their initial heartbreak.
“They still did amazing,” Billings said. “I’m glad we held onto something.”
Given the level of inexperience, Billings said she hadn’t expected her team to be competiting for a state championship this season, but her Vikings surprised her, and were, in a word, “fearless.” The future looks promising for the young Vikings, who should return the entire team next winter.
“That pyramid is coming along,” Billings said. “Ella Keating’s flying skills are just elite. And we’re just a little school from Division III!”