Kamehameha won its 10th straight Interscholastic League of Honolulu cheerleading championship last night, but for the first time since 2003 the Warriors will have ILH company at next month's state tournament.

An estimated crowd of about 1,200 at Punahou's Hemmeter Fieldhouse watched youthful Kamehameha — with only two seniors — score 339 points off a traditionally difficult routine to win handily over Punahou (283) and 'Iolani (250).

Christian Academy, Saint Louis and St. Francis also entered teams, and the increased number gave the ILH a second state tournament berth, after five years of having only one berth according to the Hawai'i High School Athletic Association formula.

Thus Punahou will be making its first state tournament appearance since 2004.

"I'm so excited ... being on the varsity the past three years, it was hard to see the ILH get only one (state) bid," said Buffanblu senior co-captain Tara Wong. "(The second berth) motivated us to step it up even more, and I'm so proud of our team for making it to the state tournament. It's amazing."

Punahou coach Marla Takamori said the state berth itself was not the team's specific goal.

"Our goal this season was to be the best we can and hit all the routines, and if that's what got us the state berth, great," Takamori said. "But this is a special group, they are really motivated and have synergy. Tonight was probably the best I've ever seen them perform, they hit the routines when it counted. I'm proud of their accomplishment, because they worked really hard for it."

Senior co-captain Taryn Loo said the team overcame some nervousness entering the performance.

"At the start, I was a little unsure of how we'd do, but we stayed focused and executed," Loo said. "We gave 150 percent. I'm so happy, I'm super happy."

Even that effort was not enough to topple the Warriors, who have won five of the past six state championships.

Last night, Kamehameha executed its precise and challenging routines well enough to overcome a rare slip at the end.

"Every year, there's always pressure, but we practice our actual performance so that we'll be ready," said Warriors senior Chelsea Bega, who was named ILH Player of the Year. "Before last year's seniors graduated, they told us to keep it up, to not let (the championship) go. They said it's our turn to lead, so we tried to always put forth our best and always be ready."

Kamehameha coach Melissa Beimes said despite its youth, this year's team "is very talented," noting that there were only three seniors on last year's squad.

"It was a different year, because we had summer camp really early," Beimes said. "But this team is close-knit, and their families gave us great support."

Beimes said she is happy the Warriors won't be entering the state tournament as the league's lone representative this time.

"The ILH does have a lot of talent," Beimes said. "There's a high level of competition, so it's nice to have two ILH teams get berths."

Takamori said she was glad to hear of the added berth last May, whether her team eventually received it or not.

"The ILH is growing and there's a lot of talent in the league," Takamori said. "But (for the past five years), nobody got to see it."

Last night's emcee, Tony Silva of OC16's "Da Bruddahs," entertained the crowd with jokes in between performances, and even taught a cheer routine to boy volunteers representing Christian Academy, 'Iolani, Kamehameha, Punahou, St. Francis and Saint Louis.