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‘‘People might look at it like it’s easy, but it’s really not,” said Fairmont Heights High School senior cheer captain Shadeya Walker. ‘‘It’s motion, smiling, spirit, jumps, tumbling, stunts. There’s a lot of things involved. A lot of people say we’re just out there yelling and screaming for our team.”

With makeup on her face, Walker looked as if she was ready for a photo shoot to become ‘‘America’s Next Top Model,” as she stood in the corner of Henry A. Wise High’s gymnasium early Saturday afternoon. It was her ‘‘game face” as the Hornets waited to perform in the inaugural county cheerleading championships.

For nearly four hours, squads performed intricate routines, combining dance and gymnastics at a kinetic pace. It was a far cry from what spectators observe at a high school event.

‘‘This type of championship kind of made people realize there’s a lot more to cheerleading than a split or cartwheels and holding your hands in the air,” said Wise coach Karin Kirkland. ‘‘It’s a mixture of all sports.”

‘‘This is a whole other element than what people see on the sidelines at a football game,” said Bowie High coach Jamie Little.

From the movie ‘‘Bring It On” to ESPN broadcasts, competitive cheerleading has skyrocketed this decade. Several county coaches said there are dozens of all-star programs in the county alone.

‘‘If you’re talking about competitive cheerleading on the high school level, it’s more advanced, more technical,” said Charles H. Flowers High coach Rosalind Johnson, who heads up the District Heights-based 3D Elite All-Stars program. ‘‘More skills are being thrown on the mat. It’s a lot more involved.”

Though each team had 2 minutes and 30 seconds to perform its routine Saturday, the event was preceded by months of extensive training, including weightlifting. Those involved say the effort involved is often overshadowed by stereotypes.

‘‘This is something you have to be really committed to. There are a lot of sacrifices you have to make,” said Northwestern High senior Kiera Davis. ‘‘We have to be committed to each other because it’s teamwork, not just one person. If one person falls, we all look bad.”

‘‘There are squads who go all hours of the night. There’s a lot of time put in,” said Friendly High coach Francesa Richardson. ‘‘As much time as basketball players run up and down the court and football players are on the field, these girls are in gyms, cafeterias and hallways doing what they need to do.”

With a shirt size of 4 XL and size 14 shoes, Anderson Wright looks more like a football lineman than a cheerleader. It’s what the Flowers junior has been involved in since junior high. One of four males who performed Saturday, Wright often deals with the stereotype attached to being part of a female-dominated sport.

‘‘You get judged, labeled,” said Wright. ‘‘Cheerleading isn’t considered as a co-ed sport, but more and more males are getting involved.”

‘‘I’m made fun of, but then they see me cheer and they’re like, ‘wow, how’d they do that,’” said Ben Pitts from Bowie High. ‘‘A lot of colleges have male cheerleaders.”

Pitts’ involvement in cheerleading started because of curiosity. His best friend’s mother is Bulldogs’ coach Kristy Albert. Oxon Hill High senior Jarel Dorsey said cheerleading is a perfect substitute for gymnastics, which county high schools do not offer.

‘‘The whole mind frame is different,” Dorsey said. ‘‘In gymnastics, a lot of focus is on technicality, but in cheerleading, you get to be more free spirited in what you do. You’re more about getting the crowd hyped.”

Dorsey, a gymnast at heart, said he would like to return to gymnastics in college. Many colleges have cheerleading teams and offer scholarships, though none are full financial packages. Richardson said that aside from attracting interest at all-star competitions, those who want to cheer on the college level must try out.

And like the pursuit of any sport, cheerleaders undergo a physical toll.

‘‘A lot of people don’t know that these girls do gymnastics across the floor,” said Frederick Douglass High coach Canisha Washington. ‘‘They throw girls up in the air and have to catch them, pick them up and they’re standing one leg. It takes an athlete to do some of these things.”

‘‘It’s a lot of hard work and we do get bumps and bruises, but you have to suck it up,” said Friendly senior Tierra Huff, who injured her hamstring during her team’s routine. ‘‘It’s a really hard sport.”

Fairmont Heights coach Deborah Lancaster, who was a cheerleader at the school 33 years ago, said cheerleading has evolved and isn’t just about ‘‘pretty girls” anymore.

‘‘Cheerleading is an adrenaline-junkie sport,” said Richardson, sitting at a table outside of the gym as music blasted. ‘‘Once the child gets bit by the limelight of being out there on the stage and people screaming, there’s no holding the kid back.”

Douglass wins cheer title

Douglass had a reason to cheer Saturday afternoon. The Upper Marlboro school captured the inaugural county cheerleading championship at Henry A. Wise High.

The Eagles edged second-place Bowie High, 282-281.5, with Oxon Hill third (272). Douglass co-coach Canisha Washington, who put together the event along with County Athletic Supervisor Earl Hawkins, was elated to finally have the competition after years of near misses.

“It has been a lot of work, but all of this makes it worth it, not just for us Douglass but for all the teams in the county, because everybody did a nice performance,“ said Washington, who shares coaching duties with Sherri Bracey.

Bowie claimed the 4A championship, followed by Oxon Hill and Eleanor Roosevelt. Douglass was also 3A⁄2A⁄1A champ with Largo and Friendly finishing second and third, respectively. Roosevelt (4A) and Central High (3A⁄2A⁄1A) won the junior varsity trophies.

It was the first major event in Wise’s 5,000-seat gymnasium which will play host to the county basketball championships next month.

E-mail Derek Toney at dtoney@gazette.net.