Hundreds of West Linn High School students cheered exuberantly, jumping up and down on the Chiles Center bleachers during the playoff games. The excitement was too much for the bleachers and they were damaged during the tournament.

“We brought around 600 kids to the playoff games and then somewhere around 1,600 including staff and parents to the championship game,” Mark Horak, vice principal and Athletics and Activities Director, said.

West Linn’s student section was voted the number one student section in the state on March 12 on OregonLive.com. At the first playoff game the student body damaged one of the bleachers. Although the damage cost is still up in the air, WLHS has not had to pay anything towards the replacement of the bench, according to Horak.

This year the location was changed from the Moda Center to the Chiles Center at the University of Portland. With this change in location, students had to stand on plastic bleachers.

The damage done at the Chiles Center bleachers has spawned a new policy at WLHS, accordinding to Horak. Student will not be able to stand on WLHS gym bleachers. Instead they will stand on the wood floor in front of the rows of bleachers.

“Winning the championship is not just for the players. It’s the students and the atmosphere that also bring home this champion title,” Horak said of the enthusiasm displayed by WLHS fans.