Small town-big results. That might be the headline for a story about the Haworth Lions cheer team.

The squad was the state runner-up last year in their division in both the OSSAA and the Game Day competitions and finished third this year in the Class 2A OSSAA meet with the Game Day yet to come. Terah Wright is in her fifth year as the cheer coach and her philosophy is much what you would hear from the football or basketball coaches

“I’m a firm believer that as a coach you need to coach the mind first so if they have a winning mentality, the athletic ability will take care of the rest. We talk all the time about winning in your mind if you want to win in reality,” said Wright. “I ask for perfection from my girls and that’s what they’ve learned to strive for every time out. We practice everyday and focus on emotions, techniques within stunts, motions, jumps and tumbling.”

The program has blossomed under Wright from a starting point of 14 to a squad of 24-a pretty big accomplishment for a town the size of Haworth which makes it one of the biggest programs at the school. Cheering in small town America brings with it challenges when it comes to competitions according to Wright.

“We come from a part of Oklahoma that I think gets forgotten about and we have to overcome the mindset that only kids from the larger areas have a chance to win these competitions. We have to convince them that they can compete on the big stage with those kids and win even if they’re from a small town. But to do that requires a lot of hard work. Getting ready for the OSSAA meet we probably practiced two weeks straight from 8-10 PM every night so they’re very dedicated and believe in the program.”

Next up is the Game Day competition in November and Wright says they’ll be ready.

“The Game Day meet is not as stressful, and the girls are more in their element. It’s about crowd leading and involvement and I think we’re one of the loudest programs around too, “chuckled Wright.