DES MOINES – Following a two-year absence, members of the North Tama Dance Team competed on Thursday, Dec. 4, at the 2026 Iowa State Dance Team Championships at EMC Expo Center in Des Moines, bringing home a Division 1 rating in Class 1 Pom for a seventh-place finish out of 12 teams. The team includes (l-r) manager Jocelyn Harms, Riley Svoboda, Morgan Meek, Lyanna Nicholson, Karrington Riley, Nylah Spinks, and Aniston Cooper. North Tama’s state dance was choreographed by Karrington Riley. The team is coached by first-year head coach Amber Monat, a 2002 North Tama High School alumna, who told the newspaper her dancers toiled long hours to prepare for state. Alumnae dancers/former coaches Abby Kopriva and Dylan Rohlfsen along with alumna dancer Ava Monat also provided guidance ahead of the state appearance along with parent volunteer coach Sami Riley. This past Tuesday, the squad was set to encore their state dance performance as part of the North Tama v. GMG boys basketball game in Traer before the games were canceled due to the threat of blizzard conditions later that evening. Additional performances are slated for later this winter, including during the Monday, Jan. 5, 2026, Redhawks boys basketball home game against Cedar Ridge Christian.