On Friday, March 23rd, Tahoma’s dance team competed at the 4A state competition. “It was really exciting and it turned out to be really fun,” said sophomore Mikayla Suprenant.

The team took their fourteen dancers to Yakima where state was held. “My favorite part was playing just dance and spending time with the people that made me who I am today,” said junior Jacquelyn Gaither.

The team had competed in six competitions prior to state, including their districts competition they hosted. Both their hip-hop and pom routine qualified for state. At the beginning of the year, the dance team had a jazz routine to “Poor Unfortunate Souls,” which they replaced with their pom routine. The hip-hop routine had been earning good, consistent scores throughout the season, winning second at their first competition, and first at the second competition.

Pom has had its ups and downs, but it stayed pretty consistent in scores as well. The state competition was a good experience for the dancers, and their hip-hop routine got thirteenth out of twenty-one routines that competed. “My favorite part of state was the bonding with the team, such as heading over early, having dinner, hanging out, and going to Target. That’s one of my favorite things to do,” said senior Kaelynn Leick.

Freshman Hannah Knauss won third place for 4A drill down, an event that all schools participate in. It tests your focus with different commands. “It was really great. It’s one of the most fun times I’ve had with the team this year. It was a very meaningful experience to me, and I can’t wait to do it next year,” said Knauss.