The Co-Ed Cheerleading has once again made it to state. After a 5th place finish at sections in Lake Zurich, they qualified for another state run. Only five teams could have qualified for state in the sectional.

The Co-Ed team scored a 87.63 at sectionals, beating out Glenbard West by 1.63 points for a spot at State. Before sectionals they also had competitions at Huntley, Buffalo Grove and Conant.

They also had the Mid-Suburban League championship at Fremd. One of the other big highlights was placing 3rd at a competition at Rolling Meadows.

A few of the tougher teams to beat out our conference were Buffalo Grove and Conant.

To prepare for state, the team had joint practices with other squads from different schools. For state there were 2 days of competiton. The top 10 teams from day one moved on to day two to compete for a place on the podium.

Our Co-Ed team went out there, put on their show and came so close to advancing to day two. The judges gave them a 85.50 which placed them at 12th out of 25 teams and was .63 points away from going on to the next day.

“It was a crazy atmosphere as a fan. Going from just cheering in little high schools to cheering in this giant arena was pretty awesome” said freshman Sophie Lindquist.

Varsity is losing six seniors to graduation this year but there is a lot of talent in the underclassmen.

“Can’t wait to come back next year and cheer with these girls again. Hopefully we can make another run at state” said freshman Alexa Fontanetta.

“It’s a huge arena. It is dark and there are spotlights on the mat so the cheerleaders aren’t able to see the judges or even the coaches standing in front of the mat. It’s pretty intimidating, especially if it’s your first time” said Coach Damato.

The girls are very hopeful for next year, but people should also recognize that they made EG athletics very proud with their run at state. Elk Grove has a history of excelling at the state tournament in Co-Ed cheerleading with five state champion trophies.