The girls were second behind Lake Oswego in hip-hop at Rex Putnam, but won in the large lyrical and large jazz categories.

On Dec. 1, at Gresham, the dance team again came in second in hip-hop behind David Douglas but won lyrical and jazz. Even though the team has lost two in a row in hip-hop, dancers feel that it isn’t what they truly strive towards. “Honestly, we are used to getting first in almost every category we dance in, but hip-hop is something we have always done for fun. So, in the long run it isn’t as important to us as jazz and lyrical,” senior captain Jessica Roemelt said.

Despite losing in hip-hop in both competitions, the team has been pleased with the results. “It wasn’t really disappointing, because we were really proud of our scores in jazz and lyrical, so that was really all that mattered,” Roemelt said.

Even with coming in second both times in hip-hop, Roemelt feels that it doesn’t show weakness to teams like Tigard, which has come in second at State the last five years. “A lot of teams know that hip-hop isn’t our strongest area of dancing, and I think they know that we are just as capable in jazz and lyrical, so they are probably still shaking in their boots,” Roemelt said.

As the team heads into the second half of the year, the State routine will be unveiled and pressure will increase. When this happens, it will be up to the seniors to use their leadership to keep the underclassmen calm, Roemelt said.

The next competition, which will feature part of the State routine, will take place on Feb. 16 at Parkrose.