AUGUSTA — It was a day of familiar winners at the Maine State Cheer Championships on Saturday.

Ellsworth (Class B) and Lisbon/St. Dominic (Class C) defended their state titles, and Lewiston reclaimed the top spot in Class A on Saturday afternoon at the Augusta Civic Center.

Lewiston (89.5 points) not only pulled off a near-perfect routine, but had the loudest cheering section in the building, with family and friends shouting the routine back to the team.

“It feels amazing, it’s just so incredible,” said Lewiston senior Reese Maynard. “I couldn’t be more thankful. We had a really big fire under our butts, and we just really wanted (to win it) for everyone. It just feels so amazing.”

It’s was the 12th state championship in program history – the most of any Class A cheering program. The Blue Devils won in 2022 but lost to Oxford Hills in 2023.

Lewiston Coach Matt Hanley kept his message to the team simple before its routine.

“Hard work pays off,” Hanley said. “Teamwork, having each other’s back and making sure you communicate with each other throughout the whole (routine). They really did that. They had great energy; they were super-tight and did what they needed to do as a team.”

Noble (83.9 points) finished as the Class A runner-up. Bangor (81.1), Oxford Hills (77) and Bonny Eagle (76.7) rounded out the top five.

Lisbon/St. Dominic won its second straight Class C championship as a co-op program. Lisbon also was the 2022 champion.

“I’m so proud of them, I don’t even have any other words,” Lisbon/St. Dom’s Coach Nicole Adams said. “Just like every season, there’s challenges every competition, people in, people out, injuries. They really wanted it.”

Lisbon/St. Dom’s finished with 82.2 points. Sumner (78.6) was the Class C runner-up, followed by Dexter (72.65), Central (66.5) and Orono (66.2).

“It was definitely so great (to hit the routine),” Lisbon/St. Dom’s sophomore Kyla Berube said. “It was definitely a lean-on (of confidence) for sure.”

The Greyhounds knew there was an expectation entering the competition.

“I feel like we have a lot of pressure on us, being back-to-back state champs,” Lisbon/St. Dom’s junior Riley Hoyle said. “It’s very, very stressful coming in here, and you have to hit the routine. That’s the expectation for us… You just have one time (to hit it). You just have to be confident in what you’re doing and have no doubts.”

Ellsworth captured its second consecutive Class B championship, scoring 84.95 points, and had the cleanest routine of the morning.

“It’s great (to win), it’s a dream come true for them,” said Ellsworth co-head coach Kat Archer. “I’m so glad they were able to give a good performance today and do what they know they can do.”

“We just told them they had a job to do and that was their theme today,” co-head coach Melanie Fox added. “This was a business trip, and we were going to finish business.

“One (state championship) is great, but two is unbelievable.”

Ellsworth entered the day as the heavy favorite in Class B. The Eagles were the 16th and final team to perform in the morning session, giving them plenty of time to collect butterflies.

“I knew everybody was going to be nervous, because this is our biggest competition of the year, this is what we worked for all season,” said Ellsworth senior captain Natalie Sawyer. “When you have an undefeated season, it’s always stressful and you keep holding onto that. But I just made sure that everyone knew that, at the end of the day, this is the last time we were ever doing (this routine) together. We just needed to go out there, be calm with each other and enjoy the feeling of picking each other up and knowing we can’t do it without each other.”

Ellsworth received strong competition from Gray-New Gloucester, which was the runner-up with 82.4 points. Hermon (76.15) was third, followed by John Bapst (72.25) and Winslow (73.8).

For the first time since 1988 – when the Maine Principals’ Association first recognized cheerleading state champions – there was no Class D competition. Teams that were previously in Class D moved up to Class C. The top three finishers in each class advances to the New England championships on March 16 at Worcester State University in Worcester, Massachusetts.

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