Go, Fight, Win State!
Elkhorn High School’s dance and cheer teams are wrapping up their finishing touches as they prepare to compete in state this week.
Both teams are radiating with excitement going into a crucial week for their seasons. Although the dance team’s performances will begin on Thursday while cheer will perform on Friday, both Elkhorn teams will be traveling to Grand Island in order to secure their titles.
Girls from both cheer and dance expressed their enthusiasm with getting to travel with their teams. For sophomore Mackenzie Fry, it is an irreplaceable feeling being able to spend time with her team.
“We get to spend the night at a hotel,” Fry said. “Which will be really fun.”
There is no doubt that a lot of work led up to this point in the season. Cheer team has been consistently practicing in order to ensure confidence at state. The team meets every Thursday morning before school and has additional Monday night practices. Similarly, the dance team has practices every day before or after school. This year, the cheer team will be competing in the traditional category, but most importantly, the tumbling category. Tumbling is one of the most complex parts of cheer, but both the coaches and girls on the team are optimistic about the upcoming performance. Being captain for the second year in a row, senior Maxie Sutherland knows firsthand what her teammates are capable of.
“We’ve worked really hard,” Sutherland said. “So I feel pretty good about everything.”
Dance team, on the other hand, will be competing in pom and jazz against other Class B schools around the state. In one of the recent regional competitions the team took part in, they placed 1st in pom and 3rd in jazz.
Although the state competition will be held at the same place as previous years, there will be a few changes due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Usually, the cheer team would all travel together the night before the competition and spend the night in a hotel, but now the girls can either travel with their parents or travel with their coaches the morning of the competition. Instead of awards being at the end of the whole competition, they will take place after every category to ensure a safer environment.
Despite these changes, it is evident that both teams are ready to show their talent. State will not only wrap up both team’s seasons, but will also create lasting bonds between each teammate.