COEUR d'ALENE - With a burst of energy, junior Kevin Richardson propelled himself along the mat into a round-off back handspring tuck as though his extremities were spring-loaded.

It's no wonder the 17-year-old is a "flyer" for the Coeur d'Alene High School varsity competitive cheer team.

"I love it, it's a certain feeling," Kevin said. "It's just that weightless feeling that you get."

Kevin and his teammates will be representing CHS in the 5A co-ed competition of the Idaho State Dance and Cheer Championship in Nampa Friday and Saturday. They flipped, twirled, stretched and tumbled Wednesday afternoon as they practiced their competition routines and prepared for their big event.

"We're pretty excited," said junior Robin Chamberlain, 17. As a "main base," Robin is one of the teammates who throws and catches the "flyers."

"It's terrifying but exciting at the same time," Kevin said. "You have to trust your people completely to catch you."

Robin said only six of the team's 17 cheerleaders are returning members, so the state competition will be a learning experience for many. She commented on the synergy of this particular team.

"This team's a lot closer than any other team we've had," she said.

"We're the least problematic, we all get along really well, so I think that really helped us."

The varsity team is mostly freshmen and sophomores. Kevin, who is the only team member to have competed on the state level, said he's impressed with how strongly the younger cheerleaders have performed.

"I'm just so proud of how the younger teammates stepped it up and they're on a varsity team, which is unusual for underclassmen," he said. "They did really great this year, and this is probably one of the greatest groups I've been with."

The CHS competitive cheer squad will compete with other teams from across the state and have the opportunity to observe higher-level teams while at the tournament, "which is an amazing experience for them," said head coach Ari Melekian-Davies. To go to state, the team had to make the top 50 percent of its division during the district competition at Lakeland High School about two weeks ago.

And the team did it.

"I have a great group of kids," Melekian-Davies said. "I've never quite had a squad like this one. Every day they exceed my expectations. This is the best year of coaching I've ever had."

At state, the team will perform a show routine with a one-minute cheer involved as well as show off proficiency in spirit and kinetics.

"With the general age of the squad, the type of stunts that they're doing are ahead of them," Melekian-Davies said. "They're doing difficult stunts and they're doing them well."