Sixty-one girls, four teams, one goal: to win first place.

The poms and cheerleading teams at LHS have worked extremely hard this season and are hoping it all pays off. The amount of time, effort, and passion put forth is what makes these teams so impressive.

The varsity poms team has participated in four competitions so far this year, performing jazz and pom routines. The jazz performances consist of flowing movements to portray a specific emotion and the pom performances include sharper movements and visualization.

At Fremd, varsity placed 2nd in jazz and 11th in pom; at Vernon Hills they placed 5th in jazz and 6th in pom; at Stevenson 4th in jazz and 6th pom; and at Palatine 6th in jazz and 4th in pom.

“I was definitely proud of these results. Normally we don’t place this high until the end of our season, yet this year we are much stronger and placed in the top three at our first competition,” said Bethany Chang, a senior and captain of the Varsity team.

Varsity Coach Jacqueline Newman said, “I am very proud of the girls’ work ethic and their drive to get better and better at their craft.”

Varsity’s goal for the rest of this season is to do well at sectionals, make it to state, and place. Only the top six varsity teams at sectionals continue on to state, where they compete against the best 300 teams in Illinois.

“I truly feel like our team this year is the closest knit and most talented group of girls we have had so far,” explained Chang.

The varsity cheerleading team has competed three times so far this season. On December 15th at Stevenson they placed 4th; on January 11th at Lake Zurich they placed 13th; and on January 12th at Buffalo Grove they were a finalist.

“When we look at our scores we want to always improve on the competitions score from before,” said Varsity Coach Jessica Reblin.

The varsity cheer team is improving rapidly, but this year is very different from last year. A different division means new obstacles to face.

“Now that we’re in the co-ed division, its really difficult,” said sophomore varsity member Lauren Brennan.

Varsity cheer made the switch to co-ed division because the varsity team consisted of both girls and boys.

However, the cheer team isn’t worried. With hard work and positive attitudes, they are sure to end the season on a great note.

The junior varsity poms team has competed three times so far this year. At their first two competitions, they performed a jazz and poms dance, but at their third they only performed pom.

At the Fremd competition on November 23, they placed 3rd in pom and 7th in jazz; at the Vernon Hills competition on December 6, they placed 5th in pom and 6th in jazz; and at the Palatine competition on January 11, they took home the big win in pom.

“We were super happy with these results, but we still have more to improve on,” said freshman JV member Michelle Nee.

The next goal for the JV poms team is to place at regionals. This is their biggest competition all year. They believe they can do this by continuously cleaning their dance routine and staying confident.

Dancing against 12 other teams at the same competitive level is as you can be difficult.

“You have to really stand out if you want to place,” said Nee.

The junior varsity cheerleading team has had a great season so far. On December 15 at their  Stevenson competition, they placed 6th, and at their Buffalo Grove competition on January 12 they placed 13th.

“My team has worked so hard and developed so much and no matter what place we get at a competition, I will always be proud to be a part of this team,” said freshman JV member Beth Vogg.

During the JV cheerleading team’s last competition, they had to make many changes to their routine because of injuries. This made it more difficult to place, but they were happy with their results.