Submitted Photo The Minot High cheer team performs during the state competition in Fargo Nov. 13.

The spotlight shining down on the largest stage in North Dakota high school cheer could not faze a young Minot High Magicians team.

A Magi squad comprised of 12 underclassmen got its first taste of a state competition with a packed house since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic Saturday morning and put on a memorable performance at Fargo North High School.

Minot took home the second Game Day title in program history, earned second-place finishes in the Cheer/Dance and Time Out Cheer events, and finished third and fourth in split-squad Stunt Group competition.

“(The girls) really brought their energy to the mat and got the whole crowd involved, not just our team and our parents,” Minot head coach Vytalli Klimpel said. “They really did their best performance ever. They were all 100 percent the whole time, which is all I could ask for.”

The team was looking to its 10 juniors and seniors to guide the younger members of the team through their first state competition, and they responded admirably after shaking off some early nerves.

“Overall I could tell that they were a little intimidated,” Klimpel added. “Just because they have never seen what a cheer competition even looks like. But I think they took it really well. They knew what we were there for, they knew what they needed to do and get done, and they did it.”

At the state competition, each school also has the opportunity to nominate a pair of members for the Senior Award. The honors go to two girls who have produced outstanding effort in all aspects of cheer, including their individual performance, leadership and their work in mentoring other members of the team, as well as their grade-point average.

The two Magi honored with this fall’s award were Bella Howard and Shay Green, and both helped factor into Minot’s collective 3.64 GPA that netted the Magi the Team Scholar Award as well. The honors are bestowed upon each team that boasts a mark of 3.20 or higher.

“Definitely very important,” Klimpel said of the award. “We always tell them school comes first. If they’re not doing well in school, they can’t do well in cheer.”

Minot will begin preparations following a week off to rest for its spring state competition, which is currently scheduled for mid-March at the Minot Auditorium. The competition will be held in virtually the same format; the lone difference will be the replacement of football-specific cheers and activities for high school winter sports, such as hockey and basketball.

“(The girls) were ectstatic. They were so happy, we were happy as coaches, we all ran up off the floor and we were all jumping for joy,” Klimpel said of the team’s reaction to the title. “It was really awesome, especially with so many new girls to the program, it was really amazing to see all their faces. Especially since a lot of them have never been to a competition and for them to see what we were up against, and then for us to win that title was really awesome.”