MORRIS – After finishing fourth in a virtual event last year, the Morris High School poms arrived in Bloomington on Saturday fighting for nothing less than a win.

“The girls had a fire in them. Coming from runner-up for six years to fourth last year, we wanted the routine to be hard. We wanted to show our athleticism, technique and passion. We wanted to take risks and challenge ourselves. Our routine is jam-packed with technical elements,” Poms coach Megan Post said.

Morris became the Class 1A competitive dance state champion after scoring 91.58 points on the final day of competition at Grossinger Motors Arena.

Morris edged runner-up Montini by just 0.16 points.

Captain Maddi Pilch spoke on the win. “At first it didn’t feel real. So many emotions were happening at once – joy, excitement, just knowing we were able to achieve something we worked so hard for. It was a challenge to come back after last year, but we set our goals high. We have such an incredible bond, we are able to rely on each other to ensure we achieved them.”

Team members are Alexa Edwards, Maddi Pilch, Maddy Rushing, Sienna Cleek, Michaela Harlan, Myah Butler, Caelyn Goffinet, Gracie Nelson, Gracie Mennenga, Brenna Mills, Ashlyn Punke, Maya Price, Macy Shell and Sammie Tully. The team is coached by Megan Post and Haley Hanson.

Morris danced to “I Want to Dance with Somebody,” performed by Marian Hill. The song has slow buildup and explodes toward the end, creating a perfect aesthetic for Morris to showcase its talent.

“We have such a strong bond and it allows us to work better together. To know we have the ability to win and push each other to be better. It still doesn’t feel real, knowing our hard work paid off,” Captain Alexa Edwards said.

Morris heads to Florida this weekend to perform in the national competition. The team will perform two routines, jazz and pom.

The pom theme is “shake” and includes a mix of Taylor Swift, Metro Station and songs such as “Shake Your Tailfeather.”

The competition will take place Friday through Saturday and will be televised on Varsity T.V. For the first time, awards will be presented live, as well.

”Our program has a long standing history of tradition,” Post said. “Every year, they push themselves to do better, to be better. The way they are able to motivate each other is something I love to see as a coach. We have a saying, ‘Once a pom, always a pom.’ ”