Dietetics senior Chelsea Amman competes with the MSU Pompon team in the Mid American Pompon State Championship on Feb. 8, 2014, at Breslin Center. Teams are judged based on the difficulty and execution of their routines. Michigan State took second place in the collegiate division.
With vibrant smiles plastered across their faces, the MSU Pompon team walked onto the Breslin Center’s court as they prepared to perform Saturday afternoon.
The MSU Pompon team, a group of 26 students, competed in the collegiate division of Mid American Pompon’s Michigan State-Wide Championship on Saturday.
The all-female group’s routine can be described as a mix of cheer, dance and step, communication senior and team captain Alex Brekke said.
The routine performed on Saturday was an upbeat flurry of high-kicks that ended with the girls raising green pompons in the air.
“The performance goes so fast and you’re so focused on hitting the moves that everything just kind of happens,” Brekke said.
With their pinky fingers linked together, the girls sat in a circle on the court surrounded by teams from other schools as they waited to find out how they placed within their division. Brekke said their nerves were high, but they all felt really good about their performance — the opinion of ?five judges would not change that.
When the judges announced MSU as the second-place team in the collegiate level, the girls and their fans jumped to their feet with joy.
Five other teams competed. Metro Detroit’s Atomic Pompon took first place, and Saginaw Valley State University’s pompon team placed third.
Beginning in December, the ladies put in 11 hours of practice every week to perfect their three-minute routine in preparation for the competition. Brekke said the long days were draining, but being part of a strong team dynamic made the hard work pay off.
“As a team we all really ?like each other, but we also have to dedicate a lot of our success ?to our three coaches,” she said. “It’s not just a sport, it’s a program, and the girls may change but the team values stay the same because of the coaches.”
The girls prepared during the hour leading up to their performance by running through their routine in the Breslin hallways.
The MSU Pompon Team was started in 2005. The team was the first traditional Mid American-style pompon team at the collegiate level in the state.
The team has competed for the past seven years in the championship, but this was the first time they competed on their home court. Many of the team members said it was an honor to have the opportunity to perform at Breslin Center.
“We’re a part of the MSU legacy that got to perform on the Spartan head,” ?education sophomore Kaylie Quimby said. “It’s such a huge thing.”
After going over their scores together, engineering junior and assistant captain Jillian Robertson said the team met up to watch ?old performance videos, look at pictures and share in some team bonding.
“I’m happy with the results and just really proud,” Robertson said. “I don’t think we could ?have done anything differently.”
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