Four Powell High School dancers were named to the All-Conference squad for their efforts last season, as Emma Christopherson, Kinzee Riedinger, Alyson Morrow and Brooke Talmadge earned honors.

“To me, it felt really good because I don’t usually get to do opportunities like this,” Christopherson said, while Riedinger added, “it felt like a rite of passage that I finished for my sister,” who was also a dancer on the Panther dance team and graduated in 2018.

New to the process this year for the dance team was the audition, where the Panthers made the short trip to Lovell to perform in front of the Bulldog coaches and record the performances to send to be judged.

That gave the Panthers two opportunities to perform, with the process being less awkward than one might assume.

“It didn’t feel too awkward for me, because there were two coaches in the room recording us, so I was able to perform for them versus the camera,” Morrow said.

Talmadge added, “For me, it’s easier to dance in front of people who I don’t know, and when I know people, it’s a little awkward, because then they know me and talk to me every day.”

The Panthers felt like they made significant improvements across the board this season, learning a number of new tricks while continuing to grow overall as a group.

“As a team, I think we’ve done good. We’ve all worked really hard and gotten new tricks. I also think for myself, I’ve improved a lot this year, and it’s hard for it being my senior year,” Christopherson said.

In particular, the cheerleaders said they significantly improved in their turns this year, which they felt was one of the more difficult portions of the tryout for All-Conference.

“There was a set of turns that I’ve been working on, but at the time, I was not very good at them. So that was really nerve-wracking for me,” Morrow said.

And while the four Panthers were excited to be named to All-Conference, they felt they could have done better at the State Spirit competition in January, and see plenty of room for improvement moving forward.

“I think that it’s good we messed up, because next year we can still improve,” Talmadge said.

While they continue to put in hours perfecting their routines specifically with the dance team, countless hours are put in by the Panthers on their own or in the studio.

After completing a memorable season on the field and on the court the quartet remembered one of the best memories came during homecoming, as the dance team performed for the school alongside the football team.

The group expressed gratitude for their coach Kelsi Koritnik and choreographer Jaxton Braten for helping them throughout the year.

“Without her [Koritnik], we wouldn’t have a dance team,” Christopherson said.

“We’re really grateful to our coach and our choreographer this year, because they’ve been working with us so much on so many different skills. So many of us have reached those goals that we’ve had, and I’m just very grateful for them,” Morrow said.

The Panthers will have the opportunity to try out this week for the All-State team in Casper during the 3A/4A State Basketball Tournament.