Savannah Tolhurst stood in the center of a ring of Cicero-North Syracuse cheerleaders as the Northstars prepared to go out on the mat in the Section III competitive cheer championships.

Already, the tears were flowing. Her teammates fanned her with the C-NS signs they use in their routine.

Tolhurst is in her ninth and final year on the Northstars cheerleading squad, and all nine years were culminating in that one moment.   

"It just didn't really feel real," Tolhurst said.

Saturday's competition at Onondaga Community College's SRC Arena could have been her last.

But it wasn't. Cicero-North Syracuse claimed its second straight competitive cheer sectional title – and third in four years – to advance to the state championships on March 8 in Binghamton alongside Indian River (Class B), Hannibal (Class C), Sandy Creek (Class D) and Phoenix (co-ed). All except for Phoenix were champions last winter as well.

"I'm so proud of them," Northstars head coach Sierra Colombini said. "With our home competition last week and sectionals right after, nerves were high, but they really pulled it together."

As soon as C-NS stepped onto the mat, their cheering section exploded. The cheerleaders themselves beamed as they executed their routine. Their performance earned a 71.90 score that led all teams on Saturday. As the Northstars gained momentum with each passing stunt, the crowd began clapping in rhythm along with them. As the routine approached its close, a sectional championship seemed inevitable.   

Tolhurst – front and center for the final seconds – didn't even make it to the end of the routine before the tears came back.

"We hit zero and I just knew that we had it," Tolhurst said. "We worked so hard and we finally did it when it mattered the most."

But although the Northstars knew they had pulled out a title-winning performance, they had to wait for nearly four agonizing hours to learn the final results. After the public address announcer read the podium results for Class B, C, D and co-ed, he read the results for Class A, and the Northstars were the final name on the list.

As soon as their team name blared over the loudspeakers, the ring of Northstars cheerleaders jumped in the air and Tolhurst did a celebratory death drop in the middle of the circle.   

Results

Class A

1. Cicero-North Syracuse, 71.90 points
2. Liverpool, 63.40
3. West Genesee, 50.95

Class B

1. Indian River, 56.85
2. Auburn, 50.00
3. Oswego, 26.70

Class C

1. Hannibal, 70.90
2. Chittenango, 63.30
3. South Jefferson, 49.45

Class D

1. Sandy Creek, 61.80
2. Oriskany, 50.50
3. West Canada Valley, 43.85

Co-ed

1. Phoenix, 66.36
2. Mexico, 63.70
3. Carthage, 55.50