Lewiston reacts after being announced as the winners at the Class A cheering state championship on Saturday in Augusta. The Blue Devils scored 92.6 points to win for the third time in the past four years and the 13th time overall. Daryn Slover/Sun Journal

AUGUSTA — Three repeat champions — and three teams combining to do something that hadn’t been done in Maine high school cheering since the turn of the century.

Lewiston (Class A), Lisbon/St. Dom’s (Class C) and Ellsworth (Class B) all took home titles at Saturday’s state championships at the Augusta Civic Center. It’s the first time since 2000 that every state champion from the previous season successfully defended its crown.

“Cheering is my entire life, so it means everything to me (to be able to repeat),” said Ellsworth junior Whitney Jordan. “I don’t even know to how express it.”

In Class A, juggernaut Lewiston claimed its 13th championship overall and third in four years with a score of 92.6 points. The Blue Devils edged Oxford Hills (91 points) in a close battle for first, with Bangor (84.4), Scarborough (83.2) and Thornton Academy (78.2) rounding out the top five.

From their coach to their cheerleaders, the Blue Devils agreed their routine was nearly flawless. Aubrey Wood, a senior, said the team felt “electric” as it left the mats, and coach Matt Hanley called the performance the best of Lewiston’s season.

“They made all the corrections they needed to make,” Hanley said. “Everything went up and down when it was supposed to, everything moved when it was supposed to, and it was clean and crisp. … They came into this season with a goal, and they achieved it today.”

Hanley, Lewiston’s coach since the 2019-20 season, said this Blue Devils team was the hardest-working he’s had in his 20 years of coaching the sport at various levels. Wood noted that the team’s ankle-weight training and countless run-throughs ahead of the meet paid dividends.

“It just feels really good because of how much work we’ve put in at practice; we did everything we could do to get better,” Wood said. “I’m graduating, and it feels so good to go out like this and be able to leave the freshmen in a good spot going forward.”

In Class C, Lisbon (80.5 points) earned its fourth consecutive state title and seventh overall — all since 2015 — topping Bucksport (73.1 points), Houlton (72.75), Dexter (72.25), Central (69.2) and Orono (69.0).

Lisbon’s Nevaeh Fortin was confident her team had done what it needed to do following its high-energy performance, the last of the 16 teams in Class C. Coach Nicole Adams added that the Greyhounds’ tumbling was well-executed and that the team’s stunts were by far its best of the season.

“Our stunts today were 10 times better than they’ve been,” Adams said. “I’m just so proud of these girls. They just keep pushing, and they know what it takes to get there. This is the first time we’ve had seniors since that 2022 championship, the first of the four in a row, so it’s a little more emotional today.”

Those seniors included Fortin, Delina Daigle, Riley Hoyle and Kenzie Theriault. Three of those four — Fortin, Hoyle and Theriault — have been on the team since they were freshmen.

“It’s shocking that we did it all four years, but the group of girls we have, we’re all just so together, and we believe in each other,” Hoyle said. “I felt so much pressure, but I knew I just wanted to go out there, give it my all and go out with a burst so I could get that last championship ring.”

Ellsworth (88.3 points) made it three consecutive state championships in Class B, beating out Gray-New Gloucester (82.7) for first place. Hermon (78.2) placed third, Medomak Valley (78.2) was fourth, and Gardiner/Hall-Dale (69.5) took fifth.

Ellsworth and Gray-New Gloucester, who won the Class B North and B South titles last weekend, respectively, were seen as the two favorites entering the competition. After nailing their routine, the Eagles had a long wait for the results after the Patriots put on a stellar performance of their own.

“We still had more competitor to go who we’ve been neck-and-neck with all season, so we really didn’t know until the final call was made, but we felt confident, and we were happy with our performance,” said Ellsworth co-coach Kat Archer. “It wasn’t easy, but I’m definitely really proud.”

With the Class B competition the last of the day, Ellsworth’s win completed the repeat trifecta. Prior to Saturday, a full slate of repeats hadn’t been done since Oxford Hills (Class A), Old Town (B), St. Dom’s (C) and Monmouth Academy (D) all went back-to-back in 1999 and 2000.