On Sat., Jan. 24, the OH Pantherettes performed their last competition, and as they scored 11th place, they did not qualify for State this year. Although they had a rough start this season by scoring very low in their first competitions, they quickly rose in the charts, scoring higher and even securing trophies.
“Our scores increase[d] each competition,” said OH junior Pantherette Lila Lieser.
OH Pantherette Coach and special education teacher Hannah Hill also exuded her excitement about the team’s growth.
“I have never been more proud of this team,” she said in an interview via email. “We’ve earned some of the highest scores we’ve received in the past five years.”
The Pantherettes were very worried at the start of their season, but then, hope shone through.
“This last comp[etition] we were very close in score to the first-place team, and I think we have a shot at State,” said Lieser, before their competition on Saturday.
Their team captain, OH junior Arianna King, also had high hopes for their team.
“I think our scores will keep improving, and I think we’ll keep getting better as long as everyone maintains their self-discipline,” said King.
Although they did not make State, they had countless admirable improvements.
“We have definitely worked a lot harder. We’ve locked in at practice. We have taken time, even out of our breaks and everything, and supported one another. And also writing our pros and cons and our corrections and everything, and then applying them to practice,” said Lieser.
The Pantherettes shared their hard work every single practice to get to where they are now. That is with the help of those who went the extra mile.
“Ari, she’s [one of] our favorite captain[s] because she’ll stay up late, and she’ll answer the last-minute calls,” said Lieser. “And she’ll make the formations, and she’ll teach us things, she’ll count, she’s great.”
As the team captain, King does a great job of noticing her team’s improvements.
“We’ve definitely grown a lot from where we started with emotion and just improving our technique,” she said.
Although making State was a goal, the Pantherettes’ accomplishments speak volumes considering their ongoing season
“One of our biggest challenges has been managing such a long season,” said Hill. “Moving directly from halftime performances into competition season means our dancers don’t get much of a break. They balance increased practice time with school, family, friends, and outside commitments.”
Through all this demanding time, what has kept the Pantherettes going is their friendships within the team.
“I would say that we are a very close-knit team. We support each other, and no matter what, we’re always there for each other. And because of our relationships and our friendships on the team and working together in that aspect, we perform very well,” said Lieser.
Besides their impressive comp performances, the relationships in the team made this year extremely special.
King said her favorite part of this year is “having all [her] friends this year compared to last year.”
From a coach’s perspective, even Hill recognizes how strongly their bond has kept them going.
“The dancers truly supported one another and consistently pushed each other to be their best, and that growth showed week after week,” she said.
It was definitely a close season filled with improvement, and even more to come. Their year-long hard work is astonishing and something worth recognizing. Their season continues as they will perform in basketball games, where their improvements and team effort will continue to shine.
“From the beginning of the season to now, our routine has evolved so much that it’s almost unrecognizable from where we started,” said Hill.
Hi! I am Stephanie Mayorga, a staff reporter and Spanish Section Editor for 42Fifty. I am a Junior and am excited for my first year in 42Fifty! You can contact me by emailing 42Fifty@sd308.org and putting my name on the subject line. We welcome comments on our articles and feedback on our publication!
