When Hayley Sipe took over the head coaching role for the Valencia High School competitive cheer team over a year ago, the goal was to bring the Vikings to the top step of the podium when it came to winning competitions.
What she didn’t expect was how quickly success would come.
After winning the Division 4AA California Interscholastic Federation Southern Section championship in January, the Vikings were invited to the State Cheer Invitational and made history by winning a CIF state title for the first time.
“It was extremely exciting for us just to be there. We had never gotten the opportunity to really go to state before,” Sipe said. “We decided that since we were invited to state, we were going to go and give it our best. And they did amazing to end up winning and it was just super emotional for all of us.”
Sipe added that the belief around the team was they were going to fall short on winning the title as there was a “mistake,” or deduction tallied to their score for the Vikings routine.
In the non-tumbling medium category, the Vikings initially scored an 83.90 before deductions, and with how other teams were performing, the team believed they were going to fall short of first place.
“They looked hungry, they looked confident. They did every single thing I asked them to do,” Sipe said in response to her team’s performance. “The routine was clean. They did have a mistake, which was a little bit of a disappointment. Every time they have a mistake, they’re so hard on themselves, just because they’re such tough athletes and they want to win and they want to be the best at everything that they do.”
But once the final scores were tallied and announced, the Vikings finished with an 82.90, nine points ahead of second-place Rialto High School of San Bernadino.
“I didn’t know that with the mistake we were going to get the same outcome that we would’ve hoped for, but we were able to still secure the title,” Sipe said. “The girls were screaming and crying. I don’t know if they expected it, but everyone was over the moon.”
Sipe credits the moment to the hard work the girls have put in over the year.
“I didn’t even realize that this would be possible for us so soon,” she said. “These kids are so, so talented, and I’m just so grateful that I’ve gotten the opportunity to showcase this program the way it deserves to be showcased. They’re so talented and they love cheerleading, and you can see it.”
After winning the state title, the team’s goal of bringing back more hardware wasn’t over.
In early February, the Vikings competed in the Universal Cheerleading Association’s National High School Cheerleading Championship in Orlando for the first time in the program’s history.
The Vikings were joined in Orlando alongside a few other Santa Clarita Valley high school teams such as West Ranch, Hart and Saugus.
The Wildcats placed fourth at nationals while the Centurions finished as silver medalists in the small non-tumbling competition, while the Hawks finished as finalists in the large non-tumbling competition.
The Vikings placed sixth, with Sipe believing that the experience is something her team will never forget.
“I think that all of us as being able to go and represent a small town so well and with so much talent and dignity is so special,” she said. “It’s really cool to see how many programs from this valley itself are able to go out there and really show out with the best of the best.”
With winning a CIF state title, and placing highly at nationals, Sipe believes the Vikings not only have all the tools but also the momentum to end the season strongly as they are set to compete at the USA Spirit Nationals in Anaheim.
“I’m just so proud of these kids. They’ve worked so hard, and I cannot wait to finish out our season in two weeks at USA Nationals.”
The USA Spirit Nationals are set to begin on Feb. 19 and last until Feb. 23.
