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50 | February 8, 2018 | The frankfort station sports frankfortstation.com cheerleading Griffins cheerleading team takes seventh place at state RANDY WHALEN Freelance Reporter For defending large school state champion, Lincoln-Way East, there was disappointment. The Griffins came out spirited, but had a couple of errors in the middle of their performance on Saturday, Feb. 3 at Grossinger Motors Arena in Bloomington, and that dropped them to seventh this season. "We have no doubt that we worked our hardest with this team and they left it on the floor," East co-coach Julianne Polad said. "Someday's it's your day and someday's it's not. It wasn't our day. But here it's all about the culture. You have to win graciously and lose graciously." Entering this season's tournament, East was hoping to go back-to-back on state titles as it did in the 2013-14 and 2014-15 seasons. After not qualifying for state in the 2015-16 season, the Griffins were back on top last year, beating out defending state champion Joliet West. Despite the disappointment, the Griffins - who were second in the preliminary round with a score of 90.07 on Friday, Feb. 2, knew what they had done and were capable of. "I'm just really proud of what we did with this team," East senior Olivia Sterchele said. "It's been a long journey and I'm proud of what we did [at the state finals]. We just all wanted it for each other. Even [after the errors] we were in good spirits and had to push through till the end." Senior Lauren Burns was on the varsity team all four years. So she got to experience a pair of state championships. Although she didn't get to bring home a final one this season, she has no regrets. "I'm proud of what we've done this season and I wouldn't trade it for anything," Burns said. "It wasn't the result we wanted, but I still wouldn't trade a second of it. Just being a part of this team was such a great experience. This was the most unique team I've ever been on and a great group to go out with." The members of the Griffins team are Emma Barnard, Maddie Brokop, Burns, Angelina Gallina, Shannon Gaynor, Tiffani Gergely Alyssa Goodman, Kelly Hausner, Claire Hawkinson, Karley Kalchbrenner, Megan Moylan, Grace Karana, Kait Oritz, Madison Parnello, Mary Kate Perisin, Amber Pluzycki, Lexy Selvaggio, Mia Stewart, Sterchele, Tessa Troike, Kylee Underwood, Payton Wallace, Kanya Washington, and Julie Zelenika. Polad is the co-coach with her husband Jayson Polad. Rachael Foster and Zoey Mucha are the assistant coaches. "It was such a great weekend," Julianne Polad said. "Few have the opportunity to make a difference and we do to our school and our community. This is the most talented team we've ever had. We did so well in the stunts and tumbling. We look forward to coming back here next year and doing well in 2019." For the Lincoln-Way Central cheer team, it was a breakthrough weekend. The Knights were making their first state appearance since 2008 and second in school history. They placed 12th in the preliminary round, on Friday, Feb. 2 with a score of 82.23. That was less than a half of point from the top Competing for the division's top award, members of the Lincoln-Way East cheerleading squad perform Saturday, Feb. 3, at the Illinois High School Association's Competitive Cheer Finals in Bloomington. Clark Brooks/PhotoNews Media 10 and advancement to the finals. Glenbard North (82.53) was 11th while Prospect (82.64) was in the 10th and final spot. "For us to get to state and be 12th overall is a fantastic accomplishment," Central coach Danielle Emmart said. "It had been 10 years since we've gone to state.We were very close to making it [to the final day]. If we would have been clean, we would have made it. But being 12th in the state is an accomplishment in itself." The seniors on the team were Brianna Bowers, Taylor Cortese, Ryann Hosman, Maria Kulchytsky, Gianna Ruiz, Emily Sciaccotta, Megan Wallace, and Sydney Zakowski. "Brianna Bowers, Ryann Hosman, and Emily Sciaccotta were all at state with Lincoln-Way East as freshmen," Emmart said. "So to make it back to state their senior year too was really big for them. Also Taylor Cortese was at state with Oak Forest before she transferred to Central." The rest of the Knight squad was juniors: Kelly Gromnicki, Maddie Powers, and Lexi Troy. Sophomores: Brooke Aker, Allison Ceh, Madison Fields, Sophia Gambino, Aubrey Lake, Sydney Steffens, and Emily Vargas. Freshmen: Katie Engerman, Mickayala Kukowski, Elizabeth Miller, Jamie Nightingale, Abbey Schissler, and Samantha Youngren. The assistant coach is Samantha Taylor and the manager is Maura Hall. "It really was a rewarding season," Emmart said. "A lot of school marks were made. We placed third at Joliet West in December. We were pretty consistent with how the kids maintained their placement and got better and better at some things. We placed fourth in the toughest sectional in the state [at Andrew] to get to state and that was huge too. Emmart, who cheered at Tinley Park before the IHSA state series was launched, was the head cheer coach at Lincoln-Way North for one year before the school closed in the spring of 2016. That last season the Phoenix placed fifth in the state. She is in her second season at Central and hopes for much more success. "I'm excited for the programs future and for the changes we've made," Emmart said. "It's a very exciting experience for these kids. We have some more talented kids coming up and they believe in it."
frankfortstation.com frankfort the frankfort station | February 8, 2018 | 51 “ABSOLUTELY —Kenn Wells, former lead dancer of the English National Ballet IN THE WORLD.” Art that Connects Heaven &Earth ALL-NEW 2018 SHOW WITH LIVE ORCHESTRA “ I’ve reviewed about4,000 shows. None can compare to what Isaw tonight.” —Richard Connema,renowned Broadwaycritic “Demonstratingthe highest realm in arts.” —Chi Cao, principaldancerwiththe BirminghamRoyal Ballet “Absolutely the greatest of the great! It must be experienced.” —Christine Walevska,“goddessofthe cello”,watched Shen Yun5times “This is the highest and best of what humans can produce.” —Oleva Brown-Klahn,singer and musician “AWE-INSPIRING!” — —BroadwayWorld “The 8thwonder of theworld. Peoplehavenoidea what they'remissing untiltheycomehereand seethe show.” —Joe Heard, former WhiteHouse photographer, watched Shen Yun6times ALL 2017 SHOWS SOLD OUT! SECURE YOUR SEATS NOW! MAR 21–25 Rosemont Rosemont Theatre APR 5–8 Aurora Paramount Theatre APR 12–15 Chicago Harris Theater Tickets ShenYun.com/Chicago 888-99-SHOWS (74697) Prices: $80- $200
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