Down the road, many state championships will be won by athletic teams at Vernon Hills High.
But no matter how many titles Cougar teams eventually win, only this year's varsity poms/dance team will be able to say the following:
We won the school's FIRST state championship in any team sport.
It happened last weekend in Peoria when the poms/dance team finished first in the Open Dance Division of competition for Class AA schools at the TeamDance Illinois state finals.
Vernon Hills High opened in 2000, and the school's trophy case had been void of state-championship hardware until now.
Actually, Vernon Hills' team competed in three different divisions at state -- having qualified for all three at meets earlier in the season.
The Cougars finished second in the Open Poms Division and took ninth in the Hip Hop Division.
This was the first year that the school qualified for state in three divisions.
Team members Tierney Darden and Amanda Baittie choreographed the winning routine, and team captain Samantha Wagner designed formations to accent the choreography while further highlighting skills of individual team members.
Other team members were Meredith Barack, Francesca Bevente, Cassidy Blair, Rachel DeSimone, Cassandra Evans, Lexi Hernandez, Melissa Jozwiak, Jamie Michel, Ariana Moraton, Vanessa Nagel, Courtney O'Roark, Allison Pardys, Kathryn Redig, Danielle Rizzo and Danielle Squires. The team was coached by Brittany Henley.
Vernon Hills wins first state title in team sports
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