CASPER — If you’d come on to the scene late, with little or no context to what just transpired, you might have thought you wandered into the aftermath of a brawl.

Girls were crying. One had a bloody lip. And a 1st-Place trophy, bright and shiny just moments before, was yet another casualty.

But these things can happen when a team wins its first State Championship in over 20 years.

Such was the case Friday at the Ford Wyoming Center in Casper, as the Evanston High School cheer team — complete with eight first-year members making their State Spirit debut — came out of nowhere to win the 3A All Girls Cheer title. For second-year head coach Sidney Lebert, it was chaos of the best kind.

“They bring the trophy over to me, and the little cheerleader on it is broken off,” Lebert said, laughing. “We have a girl with a bloody lip, everyone is crying. And the girls keep saying, ‘We celebrated too hard!’ I laughed, and was like, ‘You guys deserve to celebrate that hard.’ The tears, the happiness — oh my gosh, nothing beats that feeling.”

After finishing a disappointing fifth in 4A CO-ED Cheer at last year’s State Spirit, Lebert and assistant coach Holly Blair vowed that this year would be different. The team would be young — with eight new members, of the 12 that made the state roster — but that wouldn’t deter them from their goal of placing. The team would compete in 3A Game Day and 3A All Girl Cheer (Stunts) this time around.

The team had a solid showing Friday in Game Day, placing seventh, with a score of 82 points. Evanston’s big moment would come in All Girl Cheer a short time later.

“We went into the day, and the kids had such great attitudes,” Lebert said. “We had eight brand-new kids who had never been to State before, so obviously the nerves kicked in — never having seen the Ford Wyoming Center, it was a little intimidating for them. We didn’t place where we hoped with Game Day, but it was a solid routine, and I think that helped them going into the second routine — they went in with a lot more confidence and excitement.”

The hard work paid off, with Evanston winning the title with 81.5 points, edging out runners-up Riverton (80.40); Rawlins rounded out the Top 3 (77.50).

Asked if she knew Evanston had a shot, Lebert said she knew her team had done well — how well, she wasn’t prepared for.

“Watching the other teams, and you could see the struggles they were having, and then to see our routine, everything hit solid, and they were as sharp as they can be,” Lebert said. “We definitely felt like we were going to place this year. But 1st Place? I’m still in shock. I was telling the kids, ‘Evanston cheer was at the bottom for so long.’ We just came out of nowhere.”

Sitting with the EHS Classics, who also had a reason to celebrate, the cheer team sat in stunned silence for a moment after Evanston was announced the winner. Then, bedlam.

“It was complete shock — I looked over to Holly, and asked, ‘Did they say 1st Place?’ Lebert said, laughing. “It was such an amazing moment. Those kids have worked so hard this year, and to have that state title means the world to them. We’re so excited.”

For cheerleader Catie Morrow — she of the aforementioned bloody lip — the experience was hard to describe.

“The experience for me was definitely a little overwhelming, but very relieving at the same time,” she said. “As soon as the competition said we won, I was able to achieve a dream I had for a while, and got to experience a feeling I will never be able to put into words.”

Like the Classics, the cheer team returned home to a hero’s welcome, and made it in time to cheer at the Red Devils basketball game against Jackson.

“The energy in the gym was amazing — all of the fans were super-excited for us,” Lebert added. “We were able to do our Game Day routine, and the crowd was so great. It’s even better when it’s your own crowd, cheering you on.”

As for next year, Lebert will have a roster full of returning state champions, and she’s excited for the future of EHS cheer.

“If we keep the same attitudes and work ethic that we had this year — if we keep growing — we’ll be able to score even higher next year,” Lebert said.

Morrow agreed.

“This win just means that we need to work even harder next year,” she said. “It’s exciting, because we now have a title to defend. For eight out of our 12 girls, this was their first year on the team, so I think that our team is a great example that with hard work you can do anything you put your mind to.”