The Niles West Poms team will once again pack their bags to their last competition of the season to Peoria on Saturday,  Mar.1 for the Team Dance Illinois State Championship.

Inside the Carver Arena in Peoria Civic Center, the Niles West Varsity and JV team will compete with the same routine they’ve been practicing season. Both teams qualified for state from previous competitions; varsity received qualifications at the Niles North Invitation and JV received qualifications from the competition at Lakes High School.

The performances will actually take place on Sunday, Mar. 2. They will find out their place that night, along with all the other high schools competing at this competition. The varsity poms team will be up against five other high schools in the hip hop 3A category, and JV will compete against three other teams in the poms category.

One of the senior captains, Chrissy Bucior, is definitely excited for the competition but also upset it will be her (and the seniors) last.

“I couldn’t be happier going with my team to state this year. For many of us, it’s out last state competition with this team and I’m definitely going to miss all the girls that are my second family. I’m proud of each and everyone of us, especially with the amount of dedication and love each girl has for dance and I hope none of us loses that,” Bucior said.

Sophmore captain of JV team Jazmyn Trinos is also excited to be with her team to their first state championships.

“I’m so proud of varsity and JV for making it this far and advancing to state. I will admit I’m a tad nervous just because the state competition is larger than the competitions we usually go to, but I’ll know that this will be one memorable journey with my fellow pommies. Whether we get first, last, or in between places, we should all still be proud we made it this far,” Trinos said.