Conant High School cheerleading team takes state championship
Conant High School's cheerleading team won their first state championship Saturday at the IHSA competitive cheerleading finals.
The state title capped an undefeated string of competitions, where the Hoffman Estates school's team placed first in the Mid Suburban League Conference, first at the Grayslake North sectional and first after Friday's preliminary round.
"We're a young team, but very athletic and probably the most talented team I've had," said coach Dana Naumann. "All along our goal has been to perform better than our last time out, and continue to improve."
In winning the state championship, Conant's cheerleaders helped to unlock a triumvirate of three powerhouse cheerleading schools, which had captured the top three spots the last two years, in Orland Park's Carl Sandburg, Lockport Township and Bradley-Bourbonnais.
This year, Lockport Township again placed second followed by the two-time defending state champion, Carl Sandburg, which finished third.
Also placing in the top 10 were Naperville's Nequa Valley in fourth, Lincolnshire's Stevenson in fifth and St. Viator High School in Arlington Heights in 10th place.
Elk Grove High School continued its dominance in the coed division, taking its fifth straight state title. In fact, the Grenadiers are the only squad to have won the coed division since the IHSA began mounting the state series in 2005.
"We knew we didn't have full squad tumbling, so we had to bring our 'A' game," said Coach Jeff Siegal. "We just had to go out there and be the best we could be and maximize the score sheet."
The big news from the division was that Lake Park High School in Roselle placed second, in its first year competing in the coed division. Adding boys to the squad helped win a medal, after finishing seventh in the large school division last year.
Downers Grove South High School rounded out the top three in the coed division. They placed third this year after coming in as runners-up in 2008 and 2006 and finishing just out of medal contention last year, in fourth.
Barrington High School, coached by a former student of Siegal's, Laura Podolski, placed fourth, while Libertyville High School finished in sixth.
Among medium-sized schools, Grant High School in Fox Lake placed fourth, with Wauconda in sixth, Prairie Ridge High School from Crystal Lake in seventh, and Antioch High School in eighth.
This was the first year IHSA offered live video coverage of the preliminaries and finals on their www.IHSA.TV Web site. The streaming coverage was part of a pilot program being studied by state officials.
"We started by filming a handful of sports in the fall, and now a handful in the winter," said Matt Troha, IHSA spokesman. "If we think there's enough interest, we'll be looking to contract with the production company for next year."
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<h2>Photo Galleries</h2>
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<li><a href="/story/?id=357402">IHSA cheerleading finals </a></li>
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