Lemont Cheerleading Wins Another State Championship

BLOOMINGTON, IL - The Lemont High School cheerleading team continued its dynasty with a fifth state championship over the weekend at the IHSA Cheer State Final at the U.S. Cellular Coliseum in Bloomington.

The Indians rebounded from a sixth place finish on the first day of the finals to bring home the title on Saturday. The championship in the "Medium Team" division was the school's fifth since 2009 but first since 2014.

Saturday's performance by the team was its best of the year and helped them notch 89.62, edging out runner-up Columbia (88.84) for the state title. Oak Forest (3rd) and Tinley Park (9th) were other Southland teams finishing in the top ten of the division. Lincoln-Way East won the "Large Team" division.

Here's how members of the team reacted when the results were announced after the Saturday competition.

The Indians' previous state titles were won in 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2014. They have been either first, second or third in 11 of their 12 seasons and have never finished below fourth. The school has more state championship trophies than any other in Illinois.

The 2016-17 Lemont High School cheerleading squad, coached by Dave Erlenbaugh, 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.

Photos courtesy of Lemont High School