Minooka Junior High School cheerleading team honored for first-place finish at state

MINOOKA – The Minooka Junior High School cheerleading team warmed up Wednesday on the mat in the gym and watched as the bleachers and floor space filled with familiar faces of peers, family and teachers.

The girls looked around in disbelief that they were about to perform in front of a crowd much bigger than the usual seventh- or eighth-grade basketball game where they cheered.

This moment was just for them, in honor of their recent accomplishments.

A “Large Team Cheer” first-place trophy belongs to the MJHS cheerleading team for the first time in the history of the school – and teachers, peers and family came together Wednesday in the MJHS gym for a congratulatory assembly.

On Jan. 23, the team of 24 girls from sixth through eighth grades traveled to the Peoria Civic Center to compete in the Illinois Elementary School Association 2016 Cheerleading State Championship under the direction of coach Jenna Ponio of Coal City. Ponio has coached cheerleading for 10 years between the Minooka Community High School and MJHS, and this was the first time she got a first-place finish as a coach.

“I felt a lot of pride when we were announced the winner. I have been coaching for 10 years and have tasted second and third place, but never a first-place win,” Ponio said. “We receive great support from the administration and MJHS Athletic Director Adrianne McKerrow. She packed up her family, drove to Peoria for our two-minute performance and then drove straight home.”

In IESA cheerleading, there are two categories in which to compete, team cheer and team routine. Team cheer involves cheers, signs and audience involvement, whereas team routine incorporates dance and cheer, without signs or audience participation.

This is the first year the squad has competed in the team cheer division, which made the win even sweeter for the coach and girls. Ponio said there were other teams there who had more difficult routines, but she has rules that the girls only perform what they mastered, so their performance is clean and free from mistakes.

“It was nerve-wracking to watch the teams compete before us. Some had more advanced tumbling skills than our team, but each athlete on our team was amazing at something and helped come together, which made our routine flawless,” seventh-grade MJHS cheerleader Elliana Duensing said.

Although Ponio has coached cheer for 10 years, she said she did have some fears because the team competed in a new division and only had eight weeks to perfect their routine.

“I can find the smallest mistake in a routine, but after the girls performed, I was speechless,” Ponio said. “They were loud and the line formation and timing was perfect, so there wasn’t one thing they could have done better in this competition.”