Adding trophies to the cases and lining the walls with plaques is just another daily routine at EHS, but every so often, we Tigers get to put up something even more special: a state trophy.

Last Saturday the varsity cheer team competed in and won the Illinois Cheer Coach Association state competition in Springfield. The Tigers beat out 12 other teams to take home the title and will resume their season in two weeks as they prepare to advance in the IHSA sectional competition in .

“Getting first place after working so hard was such a reward to all of us,” senior base Chase McQueen said. “We’ve been working on (the routine) since the beginning of the season, which started in June.”

Going into the event, the girls knew that they would have to push themselves to win, according to senior Meagan Modrusic, a base for the team. “We knew we had a really good routine and a good chance (of winning), but we weren’t 100 percent we were going to win.”

Last year the team had a few mistakes which pulled their score lower than what was expected, Modrusic said. “That’s why it’s so stressful because even the littlest mistakes can keep you from winning.”

The Tigers were able to push through to make for a clean and almost perfect performance at the competition.

“It feels like a three minute sprint,” Modrusic said. “…But it’s competitions like this that make it so worth it.”

McQueen and Modrusic both credit hard work and dedication to help push their routine over the top.

Along with winning the large varsity division, McQueen and three other members of the team were selected to compete in the stunt group category. Junior Morgan Goebel, sophomore Rachel Mullican, freshmen Teagan Riley and McQueen competed in the “Best of the Best” stunt division of the event.

According to McQueen, each varsity team selects their best stunt members to compete against the other varsity stunt members where the Tigers again won first place in the ICCA stunt category.

“After we hit a perfect routine, for both the team and stunt group, it was an amazing feeling that I don’t think anyone was expecting,” McQueen said. “Getting first place after working so hard was such a reward to all of us.”

To qualify for the competition, the squad needed to score 80 out of a possible 100 points at any of the qualifying tournaments. This season the team was able to qualify in their first competition in Highland, where also won first place at the event.

The Tigers will have two weeks to prepare for the IHSA sectional tournament and are planning on practicing nonstop, according to Modrusic. To advance to the IHSA state tournament, the girls will have to have a fifth place finish or better.

According to Modrusic, the girls are in a more challenging sectional with many teams that are the reigning state champions.

“I’m confident that we can do it,” Modrusic said. “We have a really good team this year.”