The EHS varsity cheerleading team has again demonstrated their talent and dedication by securing first place at the Illinois Cheerleading Coaches Association Championships. 

The competition took place last weekend in Springfield and the varsity team is set to return to IHSA State this year in February.

Competing in the large varsity division, the EHS team delivered one of their most difficult routines yet. 

“We had a few mistakes during our routine so a few of us were worried about placing,” senior Layla Rydgig said.

Their performance this past weekend was a testament to the long hours put in from the team. According to Rydgig the team practices everyday after school for two and a half hours, and that dedication has shown in their routines.

“Without my teammates’ effort and our coach’s commitment, we wouldn’t be where we are,” Rydgig said.

This win marks the teams eighth title for the ICCA Championships. 

For senior Madeline Ziobro, the win was extremely gratifying and is pushing the team to win at IHSA State. 

“Since we got second last year at IHSA, we’ve been working really hard and putting in the work to make sure we perform the best we can,” Ziobro said.

Ziobro also credits their win to the amount of practice they had done in the weeks leading up to the competition.

“The amount of hours we put into this routine was a lot and some days it was really hard to keep pushing but the team still showed up and put in a lot of energy in,” Ziobro said.

The team feels that winning for their second year is a huge accomplishment.

“In middle school we never got first, so getting first two years in a row feels really good,” junior Maggie Bowser said.

For now, the team is celebrating their win at ICCA but have resumed practices with their eyes set on the IHSA State trophy.

“We’ve been working so hard during our practices to prepare for winning IHSA,” Rydigig said. “One thing is for sure, we are determined to come home with a trophy.”