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Photos by Kelly Goto

The Mercer Island Drill Team made history on March 28 at the Yakima Valley Sundome, taking first in not one, not two, but all three of the categories they competed in at the state competition. These include 1A/2A/3A Military, 3A Pom and 2A/3A Kick.
“I couldn’t believe it at first because this has been a goal for the drill team and myself for a while now, but I’m so incredibly proud of all the hard work we’ve put in this year,” senior captain Penelope Thomas said. Being titled triple state champions for the first time in MIDT history was no coincidence, but a result of the preparation and the team they built.
“Our team has [an] incredible work ethic and we all care about [what] we do so much,” Thomas said. “Every single person on drill just wants what’s best for the team and is excited to put in 100% effort during practice.”
Each dancer was dedicated to 6:15 a.m. practices before school and lengthy Saturdays running through each dance striving for flawlessness. “[We would] get really picky with things like arm angles and sharpness,” Thomas said. “This kind of attention to detail was incredibly important in cleaning our routines and making sure we were ready for when we would take the state floor!”
Beyond building their dance skills and performance, the team grew mentally and grew together.
“I think throughout this year the team really had to learn how to feed off of each other’s energy during practice, whether it be by shouting each other out during warm up, encouraging each other at the end of a really hard routine, or even just sharing our goals and struggles at the beginning of our practices while journaling,” junior Omolara Olusanya said. Thomas reiterates this, feeling that their team’s closeness and support for one another greatly contributed to their success. The team even shares a tradition of holding on to each other while listening for placements at each competition’s award ceremony, so when they win, they truly win together.
The team has overcome obstacles and worked through both ups and downs, especially during the time leading up to this achievement.
“Competition season can really be the hardest because of the dark atmosphere, repetitiveness of our practices and the struggle to balance school on top of all of it too, but ultimately all of our work is what led to our success,” Olusanya said.
MIDT was triumphant because of this perseverance for their passion, accompanied by hours of practice, group bonding and teamwork.
“The competition announced first place by playing the music of the winning routine, and hearing the first few beats of all of our music made us feel like all the long hours and early mornings were all worth it in the end,” Olusanya said.
Seeing their hard work pay off in the form of three first-place awards was special to every dancer, coach and choreographer in the program.
“The 2024-25 drill team made MI history, and that’s something I’ll never forget,” Thomas said.