Lemont Cheerleading Sits Atop Standings After Day One of IHSA State Finals

With nine state trophies and four state championships, Lemont High School’s cheerleading squad is no stranger to being at or near the top of the standings in state finals competition. The top of the standings is exactly where head coach Dave Erlenbaugh’s squad finds itself after the first day of competition at the 2016 IHSA Medium Division Cheerleading State Finals, which are being contested at U.S. Cellular Coliseum in Bloomington, Ill. The Indians have their fifth state championship in eight seasons in their sights.

Lemont posted a score of 90.93 in the preliminary round, which edged fellow South Suburban Conference school
Oak Forest (90.43) for the first day lead. The top ten teams from the preliminary round advance to the final day of competition. Other teams moving on include Highland, Yorkville, Crystal Lake Central, Columbia, Tinley Park, Washington, Grayslake Central and Wauconda.

Lemont’s cheerleading squad has never posted a state finals finish lower than fourth, and is one of only two athletic programs in school history to win an IHSA team state championship, having done so in 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2014. The Indians also finished as state runners-up in 2007, 2008 and 2013, and were third in 2006 and 2012.

Lemont qualified for state finals after posting a score of 90.97 to finish second among 16 teams in the Medium Division at the IHSA Joliet West Sectional on January 30. Oak Forest (93.23) won the IHSA Sectional crown, while Tinley Park (88.27), Riverside-Brookfield (86.77) and Bremen (86.43) rounded out that sectional’s medium division state qualifiers.

Earlier this season, Lemont captured its third straight SSC title.

Erlenbaugh’s team includes seniors Taylor Biggs, Erin Cliff, Paige Murphy, Katelyn Papierski, Paola Prado, Jaclyn Rachanski, Taylor Sambucci and Taryn Tate; juniors Gianna Bogo, Claudia DeSantis, Alyssa Gorski, Caitlyn Henry, Olivia LaDuke, Kassandra Mlady, Morgan Pukula and Gianna Sabanov; and sophomores Gia Baldassano, Katie Boyle, Andrew Gonzalez and Stephanie Pinczes.

The finals for the Medium Division will take place at 11 a.m. on Saturday, with the awards ceremony scheduled to follow at 1:15 p.m. Lemont is scheduled to compete at 11:25 a.m.

Tickets for the IHSA State Finals will be available at the door, and are $10 for both children and adults (children in hand are free) each session.

Cheerleading is the sixth Lemont High School sport to be represented in IHSA State Finals competition this year. The girls’ cross country team competed at the IHSA Class 2A State Finals; the dance team competed at the IHSA Class 2A State Finals; the boys’ golf team qualified for the IHSA Class 2A State Finals; Maggie Micetich competed in the IHSA Class AA Girls’ Golf State Finals; and Grace Horky, Ashley Mathews and Gabby Rabianski all competed in the IHSA Girls’ Tennis State Finals.