At the beginning of the season, the Hampshire cheerleading team was not even thinking about a possible state title.

The Whip-Purs knew they could compete for a possible top-three spot at state and a trophy, and that was their goal, but a state title? That was just something to dream about.

So when the Hampshire cheerleading team was announced as the medium team state champions Saturday afternoon at the U.S. Cellular Coliseum in Bloomington, the reaction from the team was nothing short of complete shock.

“We had no idea this could happen at the beginning of the season,” Hampshire coach Rachael Fischer said. “We had so many ups and downs this season with injuries, people quitting and it was a long road to get to where we were today.”

According to Fischer, the team was so shocked most of the team doesn’t even remember half of what happened immediately following the announcement. The team was completely prepared to celebrate just another great season, but instead they will be celebrating a state title.

“Every single person was already saying, ‘It’s OK, we had a great season, everyone did awesome,’ and then they call the Whip-Purs of Hampshire and it was complete shock,” Fischer said.

“Honestly, it was just their drive, they really really wanted it and they proved to themselves, you could see it in their performance,”

The Whip-Purs finished with a team score of 88.50, narrowly defeating Columbia (88.43) for the top spot. The score was Hampshire’s highest in team history and almost a point higher than their 87.77 that had them in third after the preliminary round Friday. Hampshire's previous best finish at State was ninth, last year. Lincoln-Way West completed the podium with a score of 88.27.

Just like Friday, a large portion of the student body was in attendance again Saturday cheering on Hampshire. Many of them stayed in Bloomington overnight and made “Hampshire state championship" shirts to wear Saturday. Little did they know real it would become true.

The Whip-Purs came so far that a week ago, because of a fall at sectionals, they almost didn’t even make it to state, finishing fourth at DeKalb. Now the team is preparing for a large turnout at tryouts next year and at the chance to defend the title.

“This all feels unbelievable and I’m actually overwhelmed by it all,” Hampshire junior captain Kasey Reigner said. “This definitely sets the standards high for next year, because we have to keep this up and continue to work hard.”

Grayslake Central also competed on day two of the medium division finishing in ninth place with a score of 83.97.