Oak Ridge seniors leave legacy in growing women's sport

A group of Oak Ridge High School seniors are leaving behind a strong legacy in the fast-growing women's sport known as stunt. The Oak Ridge stunt team won the 2024 California High School State Championships, led by several dedicated seniors, including Kyla Lilienthal and Katelyn Bean. For Kyla and Katelyn, even though they've competed successfully in cheer and stunt for years, winning the state championships was the pinnacle; a perfect ending to their high school careers. It was a goal the team began working toward when the season began earlier this year. "This year, we made it a goal to make sure we were being super specific and exact and clean on all the little details that matter so we could pull a state championship," Lilienthal said. Stunt is a fairly new women's sport that incorporates skills from cheerleading but also involves athletic moves such as jumps, tosses and tumbling you might see in gymnastics. Teams compete against each other similar to basketball, according to Oak Ridge Cheer Coach James Blunk. "It's basically all things competitive cheer, just kind of broken down head to head," Blunk said. "So there are pretty choreographed routines, time limits and (both teams) do the exact same routine. Officials watch and then they score points and basically the team with the highest score wins." The stunt season begins in California in February and culminates with a state championship in May. Stunt is becoming one of the faster-growing women's sports, according to the California Interscholastic Federation. Participation has risen 80 percent in California since 2018. Oak Ridge has always placed well in the sport, according to Coach Blunk. The team won a national championship in Orlando, Florida, but the California State Championship always proved to be elusive and was the one feather in their cap the team yearned for. Bean said they worked out hard, with cardio and strength training all year, but also trying to achieve perfection in their synchronicity as a group. "Most of our practices were spent just perfecting every little detail," Katelyn said. "... making sure that we were all like, all the girls were looking the same so we could come out with the best possible outcome in every game." Blunk said Oak Ridge defeated some tough teams from Southern California and the Bay Area to win the state championship. He attributes the team's success to a community dedication to its dream and vision. "I've had a really strong group of kids. And they just have a great work ethic and I love coaching Oak Ridge and the area. … They've kind of bought into what we are trying to do with the program," Blunk said. "So we have a lot of well-rounded athletes and a lot of committed athletes and a really supportive administration and a really great group of parents that are really supportive of the program as well." Another reason for the team's success, according to Blunk, is a strong sense of camaraderie. Many of the girls on the 42-member team are good friends and spend time together outside of the gym. "If you're really close to the team and you're pretty good friends, it helps you work better together," Bean explained. "Like even during hard times, good or bad, the connection can always get you through any situation." Kyla and Katelyn recently went through graduation ceremonies at Oak Ridge and are heading to college in the fall. Neither plans to continue cheer; it's time to focus on academics. Lilienthal said while leaving high school cheer is bittersweet, she couldn't ask for a better ending. "To me, it feels like closure in a sense. Personally, I'm not cheering in college, so leaving on a good note means a lot to me," she said. "I care a lot about the Oak Ridge cheer program, so leaving my legacy and contributing to our senior class legacy, leaving behind a national championship and state championship on top of that, it feels like closure and I feel like I'm leaving on a good note and very satisfied with my cheer career." Bean said leaving behind such a strong legacy with the Oak Ridge team is a key highlight of her high school experience. Cheer has been a part of her life for so many years, and now it's time to let it go. "I've been doing cheer ever since I was a little girl," she said. "It felt like all the hard work from all the years paid off, and also, I'm not cheering in college so it was really nice to end strong and have the best memories from my senior year." There are many talented and dedicated sophomores and juniors from the state championship team that will try to carry the torch next year now that the seniors have gone. Winning another state championship would be ideal, but in the end, Blunk said the best part of this whole experience is the kids. "For me, it's just ... they're a great group of kids to coach."