In the dead heat of summer, the word was official: some of the Radford Rams cheer squad would compete in a national combine.

Jannealyn Aquino took the challenge to heart. The cheer combine would include a 50-yard dash, vertical leap, push-ups. Not the normal cheerleading event. Especially after nearly two years without high school cheer competition.

But Bo Frank was back. The longtime coach had stepped away in 2016 after Radford won its 11th state cheer title, and returned in ’19. He had a plan.

“Coach Bo made a last-minute trip and wanted to give us the opportunity. My dad (Robert Lau) and I always work out together, and I saw what the combine would score us on,” Aquino said.

She saw the 50-yard dash on the list and embraced the painful possibility.

“I live on a mountain, so my dad would train me running up a hill,” the senior said.

Aquino also did a regular regimen of sprints, along with tumbling and stunting work that came with her teams at Radford and All-Stars (club) practices.

The added training for Aquino, who has a 4.5 grade-point average this year, paid off spectacularly. Traveling to The College Combine hosted by Nfinity in Ward, N.J., Aquino and teammates Taejah Ray Telles-Kuwahara and Saxoni Frank earned No. 1 rankings in their respective grade levels. Another Ram, Makena Ching, placed second in her grade level.

“All four student-athletes scored the highest 5-star rating,” coach Frank said. “They were noticed by every college coach there. Several coaches went out of their way to locate me in the stands to make contact.”

Frank admits he isn’t attuned to social media. That’s why his cheer squad knew more about the combine than he did at first.

“The state had just stopped sports and postponed our (OIA fall) season,” coach Frank said. “We thought the year may be canceled. A parent from another school was taking her daughter so as Saxoni’s father, I decided to take him for exposure in case the season was canceled again. I told all the parents in Radford’s program, if you can swing a (plane) ticket for your child in the next week, I’ll take them with Saxoni to the combine.”

Telles-Kuwahara, a junior, went the road less traveled, as well. She heard about the combine two months prior, and though there was no set plan, she and Ching trained as if they were going.

“My dad had us running for a half-hour as fast as we could on a treadmill, then half-hour on the elliptical. That was our warmup,” Telles-Kuwahara said.

Then it was 20 sprints on the street with a weighted vest. Then Telles-Kuwahara and Ching went to the yard to pull a sled.

“It was a harness on us with a sled, 25 to 30 pounds on it, and we would sprint back and forth 10 times. That would burn my legs so bad,” Telles-Kuwahara said.

Saxoni Frank, a freshman with eye-popping acrobatic flips, had a different approach.

“I’d never seen a combine before. At first, I didn’t want to do it. I didn’t feel like it,” he said. “Then I heard one of the past coaches from Purdue and some coaches from other schools was going to be there.”

Therein lies the rub. Getting exposure and making connections with college programs is never easy for Hawaii student-athletes, and coach Frank pushed to make the trip happen.

“Coach Bo is that for us. He said, ‘I know a lot of us aren’t sure where we want to go for college, so this will help.’ He was right and there’s colleges I never heard of, and their coaches and athletes were there and they’re so good,” Telles-Kuwahara said. “They’re now some of my options for college.”

Frank, a teacher at Radford, keeps his athletes mindful of the future. Starting in freshman year, he has the Rams write out lists of potential colleges to attend.

“He is so serious. He wants us to have the best and a good future. He’s so fixated on getting us prepared. We have to have at least three colleges in mind when we’re sophomores,” Telles-Kuwahara said. “It’s going to change as time goes on, but he wants us thinking about it.”

Radford came back from the East Coast, won its four OIA competitions, including the OIA West and OIA championships, and captured the Middle Division crown of the Billy Tees/HHSAA Cheerleading State Championships on Saturday at Blaisdell Arena. Moanalua, which was OIA runner-up, won the Large Division title.

The weeks prior to states were grueling for all seven Rams: Shylah Paulo, Juju Donato, Jaja McFadden, Aquino (also known as Jayjay), Telles-Kuwahara, Ching and freshman Frank.

The ninth grader dealt with adversity, suffering a high-ankle sprain before the OIA championships while attempting a triple-flip type of maneuver.

“I had two weeks to recover. I had a (walking) boot and I hated it. It was kind of hard. I was always in a bad mood for the whole two weeks,” he said. “At times, I did feel like like everything was going good, and I didn’t need to be on the team because they didn’t need me.”

He took off the boot two days before the OIA championships. By the time the state championships rolled around, he was almost back to normal.

“I taped my ankle and told myself to push myself. The break was great for me. Amazing. When I came back, I had so much power I didn’t know I had,” Frank said. “It was great to be back on the mat and showing off what I can do.”

Aquino, a senior, was at Moanalua before transferring to Radford. The smaller school is a better fit.

“I came back (from the combine) and I worked harder. I gained new skills, tried new things. I love being at Radford. The teachers are different. They try really, really hard to make you a better student,” she said. “With cheer, I was welcomed at Radford. Coach Bo goes that extra mile.”

Even in New Jersey, their coach kept costs as low as possible for his competitors.

“He took care of us. All we had to do was pay for our flight. He rented out our car, our hotel, our food. He truly cares about our feelings. Most coaches would be, you have to push through, but to a certain extent, he’s understanding,” Aquino said. “It makes the communication more open ad we can talk to him if we need to. He creates a happy environment.”

That doesn’t make coach Frank any less demanding on the mat. Radford’s 359-point total at states was unchallenged. He fretted for a second about deductions that cost the Rams four points. Compassion and competitive drive are alive and well again at Radford cheer, where parents wear “Return to Excellence” T-shirts.

Aquino has endured myriad injuries, yet plans to continue her cheer career at college. Weber State is her favorite destination right now.

“I’ve had a hyperextended knee, broken arm, concussions, back injuries. A sprained ankle,” she said. “I just keep pushing, always keep going. When I was young, I was not motivated. There’s a point where you have to be self-disciplined because motivation doesn’t last very long.”

The process required tough decisions. Radford began with just three returnees from the 2019 squad. McFadden, a track and field athlete, had taken a tumbling class that Frank teaches at Radford. He was a good fit.

“He is so fast, athletic and strong. His growth is so amazing,” Telles-Kuwahara said. “He’s ready for college level.”

Of the 15 or so who tried out in the summer, coach Frank kept only seven.

“Coach Bo doesn’t play no favoritism. You were on the team last year? You still have to work and earn your spot this year,” Telles-Kuwahara said. “I was really nervous over the summer, but when he trimmed it down to seven, I said, yes, this is it.”

The football and girls volleyball teams turned out in full force to support their cheer squad at states.

“They went out of the way to come and support us,” Telles said. “It’s kind of crazy because we had a whole year off so trying to build the program back up was a struggle for us. But I feel like it definitely paid off with all the hard work.”

Jannealyn “JJ” Aquino

Senior

>> Top 3 shows: “Heaven is for Real,” “The Great Wall,” “Titanic.”

>> Six AP classes since junior year began: “If you feel like it’ll be stressful, then it will be. You have to think of it as a regular class. I like the challenge.”

>> New life skill: “I’ve learned to step out of my comfort zone. When I had an opportunity to go to a cheer combine, with time management and having faith, it got me more opportunities by going there.”

Taejah Ray Telles-Kuwahara

Junior

>> Top 3 shows: “Twilight” series, “Harry Potter” series and “50 First Dates.” “I’ve watched (50 First Dates) a lot. The first time, my dad (Garrett) made me watch it with him and I cried so much. He cried with me. We cried together.”

>> New life skill: Driving. “I just finished taking Drivers’ Ed … I know my parents are exhausted from driving me to practice every day.”

>> Time machine: “I would want to travel to the old Hawaiian kingdom before the annexation and see what life was like.”

Saxoni Frank

Freshman

>> Top 3 shows: “Avengers: Endgame,” “Free Guy,” “Naruto.”

>> New life skill: Cooking. “First, I started with basic stuff. I experimented with omelettes, then I made steak.”

>> Hidden talent: Photography. “My dad let me borrow his Canon for a little bit. I started taking pictures and I loved it. I always loved taking pictures of things, editing photos and videos.”