The high school drill teams competed at the St. Charles Classic on Jan. 27. Varsity Drill Team placed 5th in both hip hop and pom while JV placed 2nd in hip hop and 4th in pom.

In the middle of the JV’s hip hop routine, their music just stopped playing.

“A lady tried to fix it but it just kept messing up,” JV Drill Team member Rontina Smith said. “But as the coaches and varsity cheered us on to keep going, we knew that we couldn’t give up. So we kept dancing and we got through it all.”

The feeling of wondering if the team won or not gave them butterflies in their stomachs.

“When the judges announced that we got 2nd, it felt like a huge accomplishment even if we didn’t win 1st.”

Smith said all of the work and late practices really paid off.

“It took a lot of hard work to achieve this award, but with the help of our coaches, the varsity girls, our families, and each other, we all pushed through as a team.”

This was the final competition for the Varsity Drill Team before they head to Nationals in Orlando, Florida, on Feb. 22-24.