It was supposed to have been a year of transition after losing Bo Frank who stepped down after coaching the cheer team for 15 years. His ties to the program remain close, though, when he was succeeded, by his cousin, former cheerleader, and alumnus Ridge Frank.

As a result of the new personnel, Shayla Rice (11) said, “We focused on rebuilding our program.”

On Nov. 14, the team captured its 11th consecutive State Championship title, in the Medium Division,  at the Zippy’s sponsored Hawaii High School Athletic Association Cheerleading Championships.

Radford competed with eight members from its competitive team, among 12 other teams in the medium division. With a final score of 336.5, the Lady Rams won with a .25 point lead over the runner up, Kamehameha Maui.

“[The win] was unrealistic because I lost my freshman and sophomore years because I wasn’t allowed to compete because freshman year I was in JV, and sophomore year, I got hurt,” Shayla Rice (12) said, who has been cheering for 13 years.

In order to prepare for the competition, Rice said, “We had extra long practices and went from 6:30 p.m. – 9 p.m. every Monday through Friday.”

Practices include “two-three full outs, when you do your whole two-three minute routine, and run sections which is the opening [tumbling, running] and cheer.”

What’s next for the team?

After winning the state championship, Rice said, “We weren’t supposed to go, but our coach [Bo] had a dream, and in two days, we decided to go to nationals. We leave Jan. 30 to Dallas, TX. We’re going to defend our title. We’re going for our sixth National Champions title.”

Cheerleading is a yearlong sport at Radford.

“We have training in the summer, and then football season. We cheer for volleyball and basketball season, and we compete,” Rice said.

The cheer program is comprised of two teams: competitive and sideline.

“We have certain skill requirements to make the competitive team which involves tumbling like standing tucks, layouts, and falls. This is in addition to good stunting abilities,” Rice said.

Sixteen members make up the sideline team.

“We push for back handsprings, but if they are close to it, we’ll work with them. They also do the stunting and dancing,” Rice said.

Most importantly, Rice said, “You just need to have heart.”

“We’re a very hardworking team and we work to keep our legacy alive,” Rice said.