The dance team back at North Tama with their first place trophy in Class III Poms at the State Dance/Drill Team Contest on November 30th. Pictured are, 1st row (L to R): Lydia Ketter, Carlie Johanningmeier, Andrea Ubben, Tessa Dvorak. 2nd row: Isabel Sierra, Katie Kopriva, Becky Adams, Kirstie Seda, Sable Fehr, Molly Kvidera, Megan Popelka and Dylan Rohlfsen. Their dance can be seen this Monday at 8 p.m. on Iowa Public Television.

When the North Tama Dance Team headed down to the Wells Fargo Area on November 30th for the Iowa State Dance/Drill Team Contest, their goal was to bring some hardware home for the trophy case.

And they did just that.

The North Tama Dance Team came home with the best hardware, winning State in Division III Poms. This was the first time North Tama has ever won first at the contest.

The team, lead by co-captains Carlie Johanningmeier and Andrea Ubben, edged out last year’s winner Akron-Westfield by a half a point to win. The two seniors had been close before, tieing for second place in their freshman year.

“Being able to co-captain the dance team with Carlie has been an extraordinary experience and opportunity. This team is like a second family to me and I love being a part of it. We worked so hard this year and really pushed ourselves to be better. It all paid off when we beat Akron-Westfield. Getting that first place trophy, especially with a dance that Carlie and I choreographed, was one of the best feelings in world. I will never forget that moment and will cherish it forever. I couldn’t have asked for a better senior year or a better team to share it with,” said senior co-captain Andrea Ubben.

Even though State Contest was done in December, the North Tama Dance team has been busy practicing for the remainder of the school season. The Dance Team performs at halftime of most basketball with their last dance being a co-ed dance this Friday at halftime of the boy’s basketball game against Dunkerton while the K-8 Dance Clinic will perform at halftime of the boy’s game against Union on February 5th. They also perform as part of the North Tama Swing Show on March 8th and 9th.

North Tama’s state dance performance can be seen on Iowa Public Television on February 5th at 8pm, February 6th at 3am, or February 11th at 1pm.