On January 22, the Long Beach Poly Varsity Song team and Mascots competed in the USA Regional Competition in order to qualify for Nationals. The Varsity Song squad is a small but powerful force, consisting of sophomore Kennedy Cofield and returning juniors Lily Brossus, Becca Gutierrez, and Megan Villaverde. The mascots were sophomores Coco Sanabria and Sandra Rosas.
In order to prepare, Song’s Gutierrez said, “We practice almost every day throughout the week in order to prepare. These practices range from practices dedicated to conditioning in order to improve our stamina in the dance, or to working on our technique.”
Mascot Sanabria added, “My partner Sandra and I worked with Coach Cynthia on choreography and made up the ending on our own.”
The theme for the Song portion was “Teamwork,” so the song mix for the routine had to reflect that. High School Musical, “Everything is Awesome,” and Lorde’s “Team” were included. The routine was choreographed by Cynthia Negrete and her daughter Marissa Negrete. Their fast-paced dance and cheerful facial expressions kept the audience intrigued.
The girls were happy with their performance, but Villaverde said, “There is always room for improvement.”
Cofield, first-year Songleader, said, “I feel that I did great for my first competition, but there is always something I can improve on for the next competition.” Cofield has been working on her aerial since summer and she executed it perfectly at the competition which made her and her team proud.
The mascot routine has to have a storyline that is conveyed to the audience and gets the audience participating in supporting their team. The theme was “Create a Lover,” and Jonathan Rabbit was a mad scientist who decided to make his own perfect lover. It had songs including “Somebody to Love” by Queen.
Song and Mascot both placed second overall in their divisions. Their scores were high enough to qualify for Nationals, which will take place March 24-26 at the Anaheim Convention Center. Cynthia Negrete commented, “I am proud of the girls. The goal of the day was to beat the score in order to qualify for Nationals and we did.”