2004 Year in Review

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MHS Pom Pon Team won State Championship for 4th time

State Championship Pom Pon Team

MHS Pom Pon Squad performing at State

Morrison High School’s Pom Pon Squad is a four (4) times Kick Division State Championship team. They performed in front of a huge crowd at University of Illinois Assembly Hall in Champaign late Saturday afternoon (March 27, 2004). There were at least 2400 participants in 132 teams assembled in three classes and thirty-three categories competing for championship status but only 33 of the 132 teams took home a first place trophy.

MHS competed against four other teams in their Kick category from all over Illinois and according to officials they scored higher in Class A than the entire eleven AA and nine AAA teams. “This is quite an accomplishment for this year’s team!” LuAnne Navarra, the team’s advisor explained.

Seniors Britta Bartels and Megan Goodenough were also recognized with a medal as one of the 55 IDTA Scholars. The girls have a GPA of at least 3.3 and each wrote an essay. Bartels, Goodenough, and Amy Drehmer were also chosen as All-Stars and performed with 53 other All-Stars in the evening’s 25th Anniversary Celebration.

As part of the Celebration they recognized the three women who originally started the competition. Some of the All-Stars performed original routines as they were done 25 years ago. Bartels, Drehmer, and Goodenough performed in a Hip Hop routine to show how the competition has changed.

What does it take to win four times? Navarra says it takes a lot of time and practice, but the music chosen and the choreography play a large part. She drills the girls over and over until they can do it to near perfection. They may hate it at the time but after becoming the State Champions they thank Navarra for pushing them.

“I start out picking some music I like. Then I let the girls pick the song they like because they have to listen to it over and over.” This year they chose “This will be an Everlasting Love” sung by Natalie Cole. They scored very well and Navarra was very pleased. “The score was higher than Super-Sectionals.” On the judges’ critiques, she had changed the ending as well as other parts after that earlier competition.

Her core senior group: Bartels, Drehmer, Goodenough, and Amiee Wagenecht are experienced. According to Navarra, “They worked hard and knew what it takes.”

Choreography is another area the judges always comment on at competition. Emily Navarra, a student of dance and former Pon, helped Navarra with the choreography.

This is MHS’s sixth year going to State. In earlier years the competitions leading up to State were in southern Illinois and Chicago but then Dixon started a local competition, now it is at Bureau Valley.

Navarra has just finished her 29th year at Morrison High School as Pons and Cheerleading coach. She has no plans to retire. In fact, after Spring Break, tryouts begin for next year’s team. Only six of this years competition team (Stephanie Anderson, Katie Barnett, Stacy Belha, Mallory Navarra, Monique Vos, Jamie Ware and one alternate, Cameron Bierman) will be returning this fall; so close to half the team will be new. For those chosen to be on the competition team, the sport is not a season but an entire year. Soon the girls start learning a routine for camp, which leads directly into Football, followed by Basketball, and again Competition in the spring.

Photos of the event are available in our Photo Album or at www.gainesphoto.com on page 2 of their photo album and competition results are available at www.idta.org.

by Barb Benson, theCity1.com
April 1, 2004