The poms team danced up a storm in their regular competition season this January, achieving two top-five placements in invitational competitions at Blake and Seneca Valley high schools.
Their reason for their progress is no secret; this winter, the team has been hard at work fine-tuning their routine and brushing up their skills for the highest levels of competition, an effort led by senior captains Siena Fluegel and Hannah Salerno.
“D1 is really, really competitive, so our biggest goal is to do our best and be happy with our performance. It’s a little stressful, but it feels really good to do the routine, run off and be happy with the performance,” Fluegel said.
Their first competition, an invitational at Blake High School, came after significant gaps in their normal practice time. Despite this obstacle, the dancers managed to place third out of nine schools.
“We were kind of nervous because we didn’t have practice before winter break and the practice the night before the competition got cancelled. We only really had one practice before that, so we were really happy,” Fluegel said.
Their next invitational was at Seneca Valley High School, in which the team placed fifth out of seven schools. Although the placement was lower than in their previous invitational, the team’s leadership remained confident in the progression of their skills.
“We only get better each time, so by counties we’ll be great. We’re constantly cleaning and drilling on the routine, working on our endurance. It’s a lot of skill and technique work,” junior captain Lottie Austegard said. “At every competition, we’ve laid it all out there and been really proud of ourselves.”
The team was able to showcase their combination of consistency and enthusiasm in their final competition before the county championship as well, an invitational at Springbrook High School. The team came just two points short of placing third out of seven teams, a solid finish to their regular competition season.
As the season progressed, having consistent motivation became more and more vital in order to achieve the high goals the team has set for themselves. The dancers made sure to communicate with each other while competing in order to avoid getting tired and making mistakes.
“Keeping up energy is really hard, so talking to the team all the time and keeping a good attitude is necessary,” sophomore and first-year dancer Julia Veres said.
This communication had a positive side effect as well; the team became a tight-knit community, where hard work never got in the way of enjoying the experience.
“I don’t think we’ve ever had a season that went by so fast. We’ve had a lot of fun together and that’s made it go by faster,” coach Tanya Ang said. “I’m gonna miss this team so much, but I’m excited for countie and for them to be able to take everything that they’ve done and show it.”
As they head into the MCPS championship, taking place on Feb. 1, the team will continue to work hard and aim high.
“There’s definitely work that still needs to be done, so we’re focusing on getting our skills and our techniques better and sharper,” Fluegel said.
