PROFESSIONAL
PHOTOS
COURTESY OF UDA
onals Experience
Junior
Varsity
2016 Team Members
Two rounds took place in the Junior Varsity Division: Semi-Finals
and Finals. The PT team took first place in the semi-finals round by
just .02 of a point, and fought hard in the finals to keep their firstplace rank — passing up the second-place team by more than three
points. Judges and spectators commented that the creative elements
and tricks in their routine were like none they had ever seen before.
Coming in at a close second many times, this year was the first time
the PT Junior Varsity team won first place in the competition.
“We worked together to highlight all of our athletes’ strengths and
the girls executed with
passion and confidence,”
says Olivo. “They left
the audience in awe; we
couldn’t be more proud
of them.” ■
Junior Varsity
Jenna Fairbanks (captain)
Peyton Roy (captain)
Karli Blair
Samantha Brueggman
Sami Casilli
Lexi DeLucia
Natalie Dodson
Tori Heilmann
Kallie Knight
Jordyn Koutsogiani
Bailey McGoogan
Maria Manning
Caroline Mountain
Storie Poness
Olivia Smart
Ava Wible
Many family members and friends of
PTDT traveled to Orlando to cheer on the
team. The PT fans kept their “fat heads”
tradition alive and the stands were filled
with life-size photos of the dancers’ faces
mounted to sticks for waving in the air.
Those who were unable to travel
live-streamed the event from home.
“Nationals is always a great time, for
both the girls and the parents. The whole
atmosphere there is so exciting — and
when our girls walk onto the floor to
perform, they never disappoint the crowd,”
says Jill Chlystek, mom of a PTDT senior.
“I’ll always remember the moment Marlee
and her teammates walked out hand-inhand to compete in the final round and,
after an outstanding performance, they
all embraced — knowing it didn’t matter
what the outcome was because they did
their best and were proud of what they
accomplished.”
Peters Township | April/May 2016 | icmags.com 75