Tomorrow, Jan.21 LTHS Poms competes in the IHSA competition in Bloomington, IL.

“Our focus has changed this year to make the attempt to be more competitive than we have in the past,” Poms coach Mary Kronsjar said. “The team is all very focused and works tirelessly for the best end result.”

This will be Poms first statewide competition, allowing them to compete against bigger schools similar to LT all over the state of Illinois.  In the past Poms has only competed at the regional level.

“We have never danced against a lot of these teams because we have never competed with IHSA, but I’m so excited to show them what LT brings to the floor,” captain Greta Leader ’17 said.

The team practices five days a week for two hours up until the day of the competition.  The dance they are performing at the competition is choreographed by team members.

“Our practices will be focused on endurance training and focusing on high level details within the routine,” Krosnjar said.

This season the team has struggled with many injuries and illnesses and have had to adjust their layout of dances.

“We have had to overcome a few challenges and have hit a few rough patches this year, but at the end of the day, we are a family who supports each other no matter what,” Leader said.  “I think our work ethic is evident in our frequent successes despite our setbacks.”

The team’s hope is that competing at a higher level will draw more interest and more motivation.

“This is a really great step in the right direction for the the LTHS Poms program,” Krosnjar said. “It’s a great feeling when the state recognizes your activity as a sport so that we can compete at a higher level. The administrators at LT have been extremely supportive and we can’t wait to support our school.”