When the final results were announced Saturday at the Class 3A state cheerleading competition in Hanceville, the Opp varsity cheerleaders — with tears in their eyes — stood up and went to congratulate the first-place winners for a job well done.

That was the proudest moment by her team, OHS coach Lorrie Harrison said.

“Our girls definitely displayed character at that moment,” Harrison said. “That says a lot about the character of our girls.

“There were lots of sad girls, but at that moment, they definitely showed what it is to be a winner,” she said.

It was especially hard for the team to congratulate Winfield, because both squads put forth routines that could’ve gone either way, the coach said.

“We performed to the best of our ability, and came up a little short,” Harrison said. “We’re going to get after it next year.”

One thing the girls displayed all week at the state competition at Wallace State Community College is that of working together as a team, Harrison said.

“I had told them all week long that they needed to realize that there were more victories in life to reach for,” she said. “I believe that our team did that this week.

“We were a team when we came off that mat,” she said. “They were sad, but left it all on the floor. They were more one (team) than when we got up there on Friday. They all dug deep this las week. We learned a lot.”

In the junior high state competition, the Lady Bobcats finished in first place.