Records Fall at Illinois High School State Cheerleading Finals
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by Orlan H. Ree, Jr.
BLOOMINGTON, IL--Quietly and unassumingly, this turned out to be the best finals ever.
The 2010 IHSA State Cheer finals will be remembered for a number of reasons.
Two defending champions flexed their muscles. Two new champions set records. Of the 40 performances (10 each in four divisions) held during the finals, 18 of them were clean.
Elk Grove won its fifth Coed title in a row. Conant from Hoffman Estates signaled a changing of the guard in the Large Division. In the history of team sports at Lemont High School, they own just two state trophies. Both are championship trophies and they belong to the cheerleaders. And little known Columbia significantly raised the bar for Small schools.
When records weren't falling, tears were. For every moment of exhilaration from teams stepping off the mat after nailing a routine, there were just as many tears of failure from others for mistakes large or small.
This fifth edition of the Competitive Cheerleading state finals really was a classic.
In the Small Division, Columbia, from nearby St. Louis, served notice to other small team competitors to step it up next year. In Friday's preliminary round, Columbia became the first small school ever to post a total score in the 90s at the state series by hitting a 90.86.
Then in the finals, they broke their own one-day, Small school state record by notching a 91.26 score, nearly four points ahead of runner-up Timothy Christian of Elmhurst, who had an 87.40.
The old record for highest total score by a Small team was 86.78, set in 2007 by Kincaid South Fork in the finals.
Brittany Glowa has been the head cheer coach at Lemont for two years. In winning championship trophies in the Medium Division, she is 2-for-2.
"I am just shocked," said Glowa. "Two years in a row, I am so proud of these girls. Words can't describe how excited I am for them right now. They have worked so hard and they deserve this."
Despite a small hitch in the finals, Lemont put up a 90.56 score, outdistancing second-place Riverside-Brookfield (89.08) and third-place Oak Forest (88.86). Grant of Fox Lake finished a close 88.48 in fourth place.
Even though this was a rebuilding year for Lemont, they were still heavy favorites to repeat as champions as most other schools were down in talent.
Still, senior Alyssa Baffoe was optimistic. "We had 9 new girls (this season) so it was rough. Every single one of them came to practice to work every day. All of us accomplished so much together as a team, we had new people and old people that worked together."
As for the 2010 squad, Baffoe said, "I think we had more skills this year than last year. We had more tumbling, we added another full (up), and all three of our fliers were very flexible. Last year, we set a bar, and this year we raised it."
Lemont graduates six seniors this year and expects 11 returnees next year.
On the subject of raising the bar, in the Large Division, Conant did that plus some in winning their first state title. |
The Cougars set a state series record by recording the highest score for any team from any division in either the preliminary or final round. Their 94.10 winning score broke the old state series record of 94.04 set by Sandburg in 2009.
Conant also became the first (Chicago area) non-southwest suburban school to win the Large Division. Sandburg and Lockport each have two wins.
In a division that has been witness to spectacular routines over the past four years, this year was no exception. After Conant, Lockport turned in the best performance in their program's history with a 93.48 for second place, followed by a strong showing from Sandburg with a 92.44 in third.
The next three finishers also scored in the 90s, with fourth-place Chicago Marist at 90.24, Neuqua Valley in fifth at 90.14, and Stevenson in sixth at 90.04.
The win for Conant was one for the ages, especially for the husband/wife coaching duo of Luke and Dana Musinski.
Dana, the head coach, offered insight about her team's winning performance.
"We could not have asked for a better performance these last two days from these girls," said Musinski. "They perform with heart and passion every single time they go out onto the floor and it shows. They love what they do, they love each other, they're so passionate about this sport. I could not be more proud of these talented young ladies, they are a class act on and off the mat. They are such great athletes and I'm so proud of them."
Conant's rise to the top of the Large Division follows a natural progression. They have qualified for the state series all five years, finishing 14th in 2006, 10th in 2007, 6th in 2008, and 4th in 2009.
They figure to remain at or near the top in the coming years by losing only four seniors this year, returning all fliers next year, plus bringing in new faces from a talent-rich JV squad.
Where Conant flourishes, they share something in common with Coed Division champion Elk Grove. A small portion of the student enrollment at Conant comes from Elk Grove Village. There probably aren't many towns or villages in the state that can claim two high school state cheerleading champions at the same time.
About the only people believing that Elk Grove could successfully defend their state title this year was...the people of Elk Grove.
But the four-time state champs made it five in a row, even though the Coed Division was thought to be wide open this year.
"People counted us out this year," said Elk Grove coach Jeff Siegal. "The best thing that happened to us was we took third at the Lake Zurich tournament (earlier this year), and we refocused, and we changed some things up."
After making changes to their competition routine, Elk Grove reasserted themselves with a strong Sectional, a stronger state prelims score of 91.84, and finally, they recorded their best score ever in the state finals with a 93.38.
"It's surreal," said Siegal. "To win one, it's unbelievable, but to win five, I'm a truly blessed person. I have a great, phenomenal coaching staff that I'm very fortunate (to work) with. I have a great bunch of kids."
Former Large Division school Lake Park made its Coed debut a successful one, placing second at 90.20, while Downers Grove South returned to the podium in third place with an 89.80. Last year's third-place finisher Barrington came in fourth place this time with an 89.10. |
Lake Park found themselves in familiar territory. In 2008, they entered the state series with the highest Sectional score and were one of the favorites to win the Large Division. However, they placed a disappointing fourth.
This time, they entered the finals as a threat to win the Coed title, but it depended on who would show up, Jekyll or Hyde. Pegged as the only top-tier cheer program in the west suburbs, Lake Park finally earned their first state trophy.
"I cannot be more proud of my athletes," said Lake Park coach Samantha Pavesich. "They have progressed more than any other team I've ever had in the 10 years I've been coaching, including six years at Lake Park. They performed the best they have all year today and that's all I really cared about, and it paid off at the end. I'm incredibly emotional because I have a group of 24 amazing athletes and amazing people."
While former Coed top squads like Highland, O'Fallon, and Riverside-Brookfield have left Coed to switch over to the all-girl divisions (Medium and Large), the new blood will be just as challenging for Elk Grove.
A year ago, Barrington's podium finish was about redemption from the year before. This year, Lake Park's runner-up finish was about validating its place as one of the top programs in the state. Don't expect to see the level of talent diminish in the Coed Division anytime soon.
Up and down any of the four divisions in the state is filled with intrigue. Sure, there is always drama, but the better teams with the best coaches will always find their way to the state finals.
Even though the level of talent was down overall for all divisions in the state this year, the spirit of competition did not suffer. These finals will be remembered as a classic.
The future of Illinois high school cheerleading has never been more brighter. |
