Having never won first place before, the CDO pom line was ecstatic after winning in hip-hop at the Arizona State Cheerleading and Pom Tournament in Phoenix, recently.

“We all sit in a circle and hold hands when waiting to hear the results,” said Chloe Wiese, a senior captain for the pom line. “When it came down to who got first we wondered, ‘Did we even place?’ then they said our name and we all got excited.  I didn’t believe it at first that we had won because I was kind of shocked.”

The pom line consists of 11 girls who range from sophomores to seniors.  They competed against nine other teams who are also Division II schools.  

Jessica Meyer, who was on the pom line team last year as a senior, choreographed the dance.

“When she was on the team she was a visionary and very creative.  When I knew we were going to do this hip-hop piece I got in touch with her right away to see if she could pull something together for me,” said Breland Atkinson, the head coach. “She did and it turned out great.”

The tournament has been around for more than 20 years and allows high schools from all over Arizona to compete.  The teams are split up by either Division I, II, or III.  Along with getting first in hip hop; the CDO pom line placed third in a pom routine and Nicole Sevinsky did a solo dance where she placed second.

Atkinson is proud of her team’s accomplishments, but says teaching the girls life skills and seeing them grow is what she values most.

“I try to teach them more than just dance. I try to teach them about life and dedication. My first thing of my coaching philosophy is that I’m here to create young women not just great dancers,” said Atkinson. “Most of them go on to be successful which is always good to hear.”

The pom line competed in Anahem, Calif. this March 15-17, in a national competition.