There may have been no team more jubilant following a routine at the annual Kiwanis cheerleading competition than the Bedford Lady Bulldogs.

The judges felt the same way as the performers.

First-year Bedford, without the experience of juniors and seniors, won the 25th annual Kiwanis cheerleading competition with a score of 155, beating perennial powers Pelham and Pembroke for the Class I title on Saturday, Jan. 26.

Even before the results were announced, however, the celebration began in the hallways at the Southern New Hampshire University field house; dozens of those in attendance, along with fellow cheerleaders, came to congratulate Bedford’s athletes on a performance that was years ahead of their relative youth.

“You know what, they worked really hard. We’ve changed (the routine) a lot, we’ve added a lot more difficulty and every practice is like a competition for them. They don’t care what they got from the judges. In their minds, they won no matter what the score,” said coach Jen Tavares prior to receiving the good results.

“I think they were nervous about the more difficult routine, but they hit everything. So now they know mentally that they can do it. That should make states a lot easier.”

Winning Bulldogs include Amanda Haskell, Morgan Proulx, Kate Stieper, Shannon Huntley, Meredith LaRocque, Emily Howson, Alex McCarthy, Molly Maznek, Madelyn Wicks, Courtney Healy, Ashley Marcoux, Mary Kroeger, Jade Robinson, Ashley Kendrigan, Jackie Tinsley, Alyssa Cloutier, Emily Slivka, Jessica Henault, Zofia Thibeault, Matte Horton and Erin Connors.

What’s scary for Class I competition is that Bedford hasn’t yet formulated its best routine.

“We’ll only perform things when they are perfect, and we have a lot more up our sleeves for states,” said Tavares. “You’ll see even more from this squad.”