Another season is in the books for Waupaca High School’s dance team.
It’ll go down as the most successful in the program’s 15-year history, as the 20-member squad won its third straight Division 2 Jazz and Division 3 Pom state championships Feb. 7 at the state cheer/pom competition in La Crosse.
Coach Amy Marcom said one of the team’s goals was to add to its growing collection of state championship trophies.
“It was definitely a lot of pressure,” she said Feb. 9 after the team performed its state-winning routines for family and friends at the school.
“Our competition in Pom didn’t seem to be as tough as it has been in the past, but Jazz was definitely up a notch. When we got to state, there were two very good teams that we haven’t seen all season, Prescott and Madison Edgewood. We really didn’t know what we were up against.”
Team members are seniors
Emily Cummings, Kelsie Krawczyk and Diana Chu; juniors Kira Mielke, Madison Hansen, Cheyenne Bennett, Brooklyn Rohloff, Claire Jungers and Nikky Weise; sophomores Grace Koch, Caroline Ogden, Mackenzie Morey, Hannah Nasberg and Zoe Johnson; and freshmen Rainy VonGunten, Bella Udoni, Alyssa Townsend, Caitlin Kelly, Sydney Erspamer and Katie Schmidt.
Besides finishing first with its two routines at state, the team also placed first at each competition this season, according to Marcom, who choreographs the team’s performances.
“My team is young this year,” she said. “We lost a lot of strong seniors from last year, so we really played to our skills. This is the most technical team I’ve ever coached, so they’re very gifted. We just pushed the limit and it worked.”
Every year brings new, unexpected challenges, Marcom said.
“I’m getting more comfortable as a choreographer and a coach,” she said. “Each year brings new kids, new families and new competition.”
Now that the season is over, the team can set its sights on four in a row. That journey begins with tryouts for the 2015-16 squad.
“This is their state championship,” Marcom said. “Sometimes, it concerns me that we’ve been doing all this winning because I don’t want the girls to get comfortable. We keep pushing and competing against ourselves. We try to get better every year.”