Radford’s best cheer was more a sigh of relief than a chant.

The Rams won their ninth straight state championship at the Zippy’s/HHSAA Cheerleading Championships at the Blaisdell Arena on Saturday night, beating Mililani in the large division to keep their dynasty alive. Kamehameha-Maui won the medium division over ILH champion Pac-Five.

"There is a lot of pressure," senior captain Tyler-Rae Gante said. "Coming into states I did not want to be (on) the team that did not win. After all of those years, if we would have lost I would have thought that all the other championships would have gone to waste. It is a big part of what drives us in practice."

The Rams were the first large team in front of the live television cameras, giving them the added pressure of setting the bar and hoping nobody else could come along and render their performance forgettable. Radford felt good about its routine, which blew all others away on difficulty, and scored 340.75 points. It was far lower than the 361 the Rams scored to win the OIA Championships over Moanalua last week.

As more schools hit the mat it became obvious that Radford would have a chance until Mililani hit the floor last and rocked it to leave the outcome in doubt. The judges gave the Trojans 324 points, though, allowing the Rams to breathe a sigh of relief. Kamehameha finished third with 318.75.

Radford, which is made up of mostly juniors and freshmen, will go for its fifth consecutive national championship in Dallas in January.

"I think we peaked at the right time and now we have to get ready for nationals," Radford coach Bo Frank said. "It was kind of a low score for us, but I think that reflects a little bit of saving scores. That’s what normally happens when you go first, your scores are usually lower."

The Rams drew the first slot when they beat Kamehameha by 30 points last year. They scored more points this year than they have since putting up 345.5 in the medium division in 2007.

Kamehameha-Maui was fifth on the floor in its division, but only Baldwin had a routine that looked crisp enough to win a state title up to that point. The Warriors nailed it for 348.75 points and sat and watched Punahou, ILH champion Pac-Five and Moanalua threaten them. Judges gave it to Kamehameha-Maui, awarding Pac-Five 344.25 points, Moanalua 343.50 and Punahou 333.25.

"They have been rocking out for pretty much the whole season," Kamehameha-Maui coach Kealii Molina said. "They wanted to be the first to do it and have been on the attack all year."

It was the first-ever cheerleading state championship from the island of Maui and the first state title for Kamehameha-Maui in any girls sport. The boys won a state canoe paddling title in 2009. The Warriors can expect to be a force next year, since they have only a single senior on this year’s squad.

"It’s been a pretty amazing experience this year," Jocelyn Aipa said. "With me being the only senior it is kind of lonely, but we pushed ourselves and worked hard and pulled it off."