Competitive cheerleading: Lemont wins; Lincoln-Way East edges Joliet West for title

BLOOMINGTON – Lemont High School’s competitive cheerleading squad entered the second day of state finals competition knowing that if it performed its difficult routine to its potential, a state title could be in sighs.

Coach Dave Erlenbaugh’s Indians came through with their best performance of the year, scoring an 89.62 to win the Medium-Team championship at U.S. Cellular Coliseum. Lemont captured the program’s fifth state title and earned a state trophy for the 11th time in 12 seasons.

In the Large-School division, meanwhile, Lincoln-Way East was nearly flawless, scoring a 94.46 to dethrone defending champion Joliet West and win its third title in four years. The Tigers did not go down without a fight, however, as they scored a strong 92.71 to finish second. Sandburg was third (90.71), followed by Providence (90.13), Neuqua Valley (89.33) and Lockport (87.00).

Morris finished sixth in Medium Team (84.87). Columbia (88.84) finished second to Lemont. Defending state champion Oak Forest (86.84), Antioch (86.60) and Yorkville (85.16) rounded out the top five.

In the Co-Ed division, Belvidere North claimed the title with a 93.29. Plainfield South was ninth (83.19).

Reed-Custer was the runner-up in Small Team with an 84.04. Champion Breese Central scored 86.31.

Lemont’s previous state titles came in 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2014. The Indians also were second in 2007, 2008, 2013 and 2016 and third in 2006 and 2012. Lemont never has finished lower than fourth in the state cheerleading finals competition, and its 11 state trophies are the most for any school.

The Lemont roster includes seniors Claudia DeSantis, Alyssa Gorski, Caitlyn Henry, Olivia LaDuke, Morgan Pukula and Gianna Sabanov; juniors Gia Baldassano, Rebecca Bertram, Katie Boyle, Andrew Gonzalez, Julie Hughes, Claudia Kociubinski, Lucy Kraker and Stephanie Pinczes; sophomores Lizzie Adell, Juliana DeSantis and Kate Roenitz, and freshman Hailey Dennis.

Minooka, Plainfield East, Wilmington and Dwight also competed Friday at the state finals but did not make the cut for Saturday’s competition.