The Frenship High School Varsity and JV POM teams brought home more than a dozen awards after competing in a state-wide competition. The teams traveled to Frisco to compete against more than a dozen different schools at the Crowd Pleasers Dance Competition.
Both Varsity and JV took three different routines including jazz, pom and hip-hop, as well as five individual solos. Varsity coach Melissa Oakeley and JV coach Courtney Ferguson said the athletes have been prepping since last summer and have gone through an intense training process every week to prepare to step out onto that floor in front of the judges.
“These athletes give me 110% every time we practice,” Coach Oakeley said. “We practice weekly during the summer, we have morning AP practices during the school year, plus our practices during the actual POM period. These athletes strive for more every practice, and they always deliver when it’s time to perform.”
Varsity’s awards are listed below:
1st place – Varsity Jazz
2nd place – Varsity Pom
3rd place – Varsity Hip Hop
9th Overall Team in entire competition
Super Sweepstakes (all dances scored above 90)
Special Awards: Choreography, Precision, Technique and Performance Quality
JV Awards are listed below:
1st – JV Hip Hop
3rd – JV Jazz
Super Sweepstakes (all dances scored above 90)
Special Awards: Choreography, Performance Quality
Solo Awards are listed below:
Anyssah Holland – Solo semi-finalist in 11th grade division
The POM teams perform at home football games, home basketball games, every pep-rally, special appearances and more. Both teams have performed during halftime at the Texas Tech Men’s Basketball games as well.
Stephanie Piel, this year’s Varsity POM Captain said she is proud of her team and how far they’ve come. “In my four years on the team, and these last two years with Coach Oakeley, I have seen how far we’ve all come since the beginning,” Piel said. “We’ve been pushed to do our best, we’ve leveled up our difficulty, and we train more. We can visually see our success in the competitions we go to and the recognition we receive.”