These Hanford students were best in the nation last year. Can they win again?

For 32 years, Kim Mayer has been coaching cheerleading.

There were the eight years she ran the cheer program at Kelso High School.

And for the past 24 years, Mayer has been the leader of the Hanford High School cheer team program.

This weekend, Hanford will be competing in Orlando, Fla., trying to defend the national championship it won a year ago.

What Mayer’s teams have done at Hanford is nothing short of impressive. Over the years, the Falcons have won 10 state championships.

The program, as a whole, and Mayer herself have been inducted into the Washington State Cheer Coaches Association Hall of Fame. The Hanford program has earned the Hall’s program of the year award, while Mayer was named 2019 Coach of the Year.

And in 2019, after winning the title at the WIAA State Championships (by the school’s Purple tumbling team), the Falcons went to Orlando and were named the national champs at the UCA National High School Cheerleading Championships.

That team included Hannah Bazan, Gracie Benitz, Jocelynn Chavla, Morgen Gray, Brooklyn Jorde, Stevie Kanyid, Delaney Mayer, Juanita McBride, Kiayah McMahon, Kylee Mitchell, Michelle Ni, Kylee Oswalt, Savanah Owens, Sydnee Parsons, Rebecca Qian, Riley Richardson, Alexandra Rojas, Chloe Schumacher, Shelby Stahl, Bailey Vandervert, Mikaelah Venegas, Riley Winters and Maddy Wyatt.

As the girls eventually graduate and move on with their lives, Mayer’s biggest joy is hearing from some of her former cheerleaders.

“The thing is I still feel very passionate about it. No. 1, it’s the relationships,” said Mayer. “The greatest satisfaction I get is just those relationships with the kids. It’s so humbling.”

Winning in Orlando is not an easy feat.

“UCA is the super bowl of cheerleading,” says Mayer.

To get there, Mayer and her assistants set the expectations high.

The Falcons, like most high school programs, have tryouts every spring.

It can get pretty physical.

“We get in the weight room,” said Mayer. “We also hire a choreographer.”

Team members are expected to be in great shape for a season that lasts at least 10 months.

“I don’t know what the secret is (to our program),” Mayer said. “I think I’m really lucky that I get really good girls. If they’re not a hardcore athlete when they start, they become it.”

Charitable work too

Team members are expected to do charitable works over the course of the year.

“We work with the domestic violence shelter, do a canned food drive, Pooch N Pal run, reading to elementary kids,” said Mayer.

It’s not cheap to be a member of Hanford’s cheer team.

It can cost as much as $1,300 for gear, camps and clinics, as well as a two-day choreography clinic.

A trip to Orlando will cost each athlete $1,500.

But cheerleaders can earn their way through fundraising, such as car washes, selling coffee cards and yard sales, among other things.

And while the team members love to compete, Mayer makes sure they realize what top priority is.

“It’s a competitive program, but it’s school first,” she said. “We might be getting awards at a competition somewhere around this state. But if there is a basketball game, the team doesn’t wait. It’s headed back to cheer at the basketball game.”

Keeping routines clean

The success may come from not concentrating on winning.

“Our teams just focus on hitting a clean routine,” said Mayer. “We never talk about winning. We only talk about a clean routine. If we have a clean routine, that’s all we can do, and whatever happens, happens.

“We just try to control what we can control, and that is having a clean routine every time we step on those mats.”

Mayer considers herself lucky with this program.

Think about it: most high school sports programs go for about three months during the season, then everyone goes their own way. Maybe to some other activity. Maybe to a job. Maybe to another sport.

But cheer teams stay together for most of the year. That’s not easy, when you consider the different personality types.

“We have this motto: Some people have their story. We have a legacy,” said Mayer. “It helps to have amazing girls, and incredibly supportive parents. I’ve been lucky to have teams that bond really well. We do that with a team retreat, and other team building type stuff.”

But besides the athletes and the parents, Mayer says her assistant coaches also do a great job.

“The assistant coaches are incredible,” said Mayer. “They help keep me sane and help me with everything. So I am incredibly lucky to be surrounded by people who share the vision and work hard to make it come true.”

That vision continues with the hope of another national title this coming weekend.

“It’s such a great feeling when we arrive and we hear ‘Oh my gosh, Hanford is here,’” said Mayer. “At nationals, people know who we are. It’s been quite enjoyable in my twilight years.”

The team’s other accomplishments include:

• The Falcons have had 30 Universal Cheerleaders Association All-Americans, and 21 cheerleaders who have gone on to cheer at NCAA Division 1 or 2 programs. “Harvard. Stanford. WSU. You name it,” said Mayer. “Also Morehead State, Central Washington University, Eastern Oregon University and the University of Washington.”

• The Falcons won a national championship at the 2013 National Championship JamFEST event.

• They won the Super Large Non-Tumbling title at the 2018 World High School Cheerleading Championships.

This story was originally published February 7, 2020 at 9:55 AM.