Whitehall High School’s varsity cheerleaders will compete at the PIAA State Competitive Spirit Championships this weekend in Hershey, after placing fourth in the small division at districts on Jan. 7 at Shawnee Middle School in Easton.

“We were really happy. I think a lot of us thought we wouldn’t place,” said Whitehall senior, Samantha Crim. “Coming in fourth, we beat Beca and Parkland, so that was nice, but in the end, we’re going to states, so we did it.”

Wilson Area High School placed first in the small division with 224 points. Southern Lehigh was second with 207.4 points, Emmaus was third with 204.5 points, and the Zephyrs scored a 194.7.

“We have a lot of new girls, a young team, but we executed what we needed to execute, and we made it work with the time we had,” Crim said.

The Zephyrs’ routine began with a difficult stunt, followed by singles, a cheer, dance, jumps, and it ended with a pyramid.

“We changed the cheer pretty last minute to make it more peppy, more fun, and a little more difficult,” said Crim.

For the state competition, the Zephyrs, who are coached by Jean Marsteller, added some new tumbling they had been lacking.

“I’m excited. It will be nice, being with my closest friends, but it will be a bittersweet thing,” Crim said. “ But I hope next year we will place at districts because we always placed.”