Update: Lemont High School Cheerleaders First in Their Division; Poised to Win State

Story update from Lemont High School at 8 p.m. Friday:

Lemont High School’s cheerleading program appears to be peaking at the right time. First-year head coach Dave Erlenbaugh’s Indians were the class of the field on the first day of the 2013 IHSA Medium Division Cheerleading State Finals on Friday, posting the top score of all 25 teams in their division and putting them in position for a fourth state championship in five seasons. The squad will compete in the event’s final round on Saturday, Feb. 2, at U.S. Cellular Coliseum in Bloomington.

Lemont’s preliminary-round score of 89.66 was more than 1.5 points better than second-place Antioch (87.24). Oak Forest was third (87.24), while Highland (87.16) and Wauconda (87.12) rounded out the top five. Timothy Christian (86.16), Grayslake Central (85.68), Columbia (85.68), Bremen (85.46) and Triad (85.18) also qualified for the final round.

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 11:45 a.m.

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

Lemont’s 2012-13 cheerleading squad includes seniors Brittany Cantarino, Molly Finnelly, Stefanie Guerrero and  Katelyn Howe; juniors Maddy Detres, Emily Durham, Gianna Letizia, Rebecca Peraino, Lainey Saucedo, Kelsey Tate, Gianna Turek and DJ Wohead; sophomores Alyssa Bakovich, Elly Lambert, Stephanie Markley, Brianna Olkiewicz, Sam Palumbo and Sammy Walus; and freshmen Nicole Clausius and Katelyn Papierski.

Original story from Thursday, Jan. 31:

For the eighth time in as many seasons, the Lemont High School cheerleading squad has earned an opportunity to compete for a state title.

The Indians finished third in their division at the IHSA Riverside-Brookfield Sectional on Saturday, Jan. 26, which earned them a berth at the 2013 IHSA Medium Division Cheerleading State Finals at U.S. Cellular Coliseum in Bloomington on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 1 and  2.

Lemont has finished among the state’s top three in its division for seven straight seasons -- a run that has included two third-place finishes, two runner-up finishes and three state championships.

After finishing third in the 2006 IHSA State Finals, Lemont was the state runner-up in both 2007 and 2008 before breaking through to win consecutive titles in 2009, 2010 and 2011. The squad finished third in 2012. Lemont’s cheerleading squad is the only athletic program in school history to win an IHSA team state championship.

The preliminary rounds for both the Small and Medium Divisions will begin at 9:15 a.m. on Friday, with entries from the two divisions alternating. Lemont is scheduled to compete in the preliminary round at 12:20 p.m. 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.

Click here to watch the IHSA competition.

Led by coach Dave Erlenbaugh, the Indians qualified for the 2013 IHSA State Finals by posting a score of 85.03, which trailed fellow South Suburban Conference schools Tinley Park (87.63) and Oak Forest (86.60). Lincoln-Way West (84.40) and Bremen (84.03) - another SSC school - rounded out the medium division state qualifiers from the IHSA Riverside-Brookfield Sectional.

Click here for IHSA Sectional and State Finals results.

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

Click here for a map to US Cellular Coliseum.

Cheerleading is the fourth Lemont High School athletic program to compete at the state level this year. Senior Aaron Oldanie competed in the IHSA Class 2A Boys’ Cross Country State Finals; sophomore Victoria Salazar and freshman Claire Gagen each took part in the IHSA Class 2A Girls’ Cross Country State Finals; and junior Bridget Lynn competed at the IHSA Class AA Girls’ Golf State Finals.

Editor’s note: The above information was provided by Lemont High School.

Show your support for LHS cheerleaders as they head to state

Joanna Kmiec, executive director of the Lemont Area Chamber of Commerce, encourages local businesses to show their support by placing good luck messages on their marquee signs, electronic signboards or windows, such as:

• LHS Cheerleading…Good Luck at State!
• Go Indians! Bring Back a State Title!
• Go LHS Cheerleading!
• Congrats LHS Cheerleading …Win State!

Or, simply print out the PDF attached to this story and place it in your window to send the message: Go LHS Indians – Win State!

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