BUTLER TWP — High expectations followed the Butler High School competitive cheerleading squad to Orlando, Fla., for the Universal Cheerleading Association High School Championships recently.

The Golden Tornado finished seventh in the small squad division, which is for teams with 12 cheerleaders or fewer, a far cry from their runner-up finish of a year ago.

But it hardly was a far cry in terms of performance.

"Seventh place is very good for the level of competition that was there,"Butler coach Randi Stoner said. "Every team there was juiced up. The bar was raised considerably from last year."

There were 56 teams in the small-school division. Kamehameha Schools from Hawaii, which won back-to-back national titles three years ago, returned to championship form this year.

Of Butler's competing cheerleaders, nine were freshmen or sophomores. The only four who weren't were senior tri-captains Brandi Scott, Maggie Steinheiser and Emily Wingfield, along with junior Fallon O'Donnell.

"I'm pretty pleased to finish in the top 10 down there, given what we were up against,"Scott said. "We hit our routine better than we ever have in the finals. That's the way you want to wind up.

"We had a couple of little bobbles, that's all. Our young girls did an excellent job, especially considering the pressure they were under. Our mistakes didn't come from them."

Freshmen on the squad were Megan Kosar, Alisha Slomers, Kristin Karam, Adaire Robinson and Kellie Sub.

Sophomores were Jenessa Allshouse, Brittany Shankle, Stephanie Isaacs and Val Rodgers.

"The competition was so intense this year, even more than usual,"Steinheiser said.

"We had high expectations, and our young girls were amazing. They showed what they can do under extreme pressure."

Wingfield became only the second girl in the program's history to be a four-year member of Butler's competitive cheering squad.

"We executed our tumbling stunts, but they weren't as hard as what some of the other teams were doing,"Wingfield said. "You're never quite sure what to expect from the competition until you get down there.

"I'm proud of what we accomplished."

Wingfield does not plan to cheer in college. Scott will attend Butler County Community College this fall and said she might return to cheerleading when she moves on to a larger school.

Steinheiser is going into UCAcoaching.

"I definitely want to stay with this,"she said. "I want to work at some UCAcamps and stay involved."

Lindsey Hasychak and Stoner were co-coaches this season.

"We received a bit of a wake-up call with the stunting we witnessed down there,"Stoner said. "Our stunts need to be juiced up if we're going to continue to compete favorably at that level.

"Our seventh-place finish was fair. Our girls performed very well, but it was fair. Our placing was due to the level of competition, not our performance.

"We had a stellar group of parents and a great group of girls. Everyone behaved so classy. ... We were well-liked down there,"Stoner added.

Wingfield said she'll miss the friendships formed through cheerleading.

"I got to know the younger girls this year. Their talent is unbelievable for their age,"she said. "This program is in good hands."