MOUNTAIN VISTA POMS

MOUNTAIN VISTA POMS WAS SELECTED TO REPRESENT THE UNITED STATES AS THE US NATIONAL JUNIOR POM TEAM AT THE 2025 ICU WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS!

2025-2026 Mountain Vista Poms

THE VISTA LEGACY

2026 NDA NATIONAL CHAMPIONS – JAZZ

2025 ICU WORLD SILVER MEDALISTS

2025 NDA NATIONAL CHAMPIONS – JAZZ

2023 STATE CHAMPIONS – JAZZ

2020 STATE CHAMPIONS – JAZZ

2018 STATE CHAMPIONS – JAZZ

2017 NDA NATIONAL CHAMPIONS – JAZZ

2015 STATE CHAMPIONS – JAZZ

2014 STATE CHAMPIONS – HIP HOP

2013 STATE CHAMPIONS – HIP HOP

2010 STATE CHAMPIONS – JAZZ

2009 STATE CHAMPIONS – POM

2008 STATE CHAMPIONS – POM

2006 STATE CHAMPIONS – POM

STATE RUNNER UPS: 2025, 2022, 2021, 2019, 2017, 2016, 2011

MOUNTAIN VISTA POMS COACHES

SPIRIT DIRECTOR & HEAD POMS COACH

Coach Atchison is a Colorado native, growing up in Littleton. She attended Heritage High School where she was a Liberty Belle (pom). After graduating, she moved to California for college. She attended Scripps College where she majored in English with a minor in dance. She then attended Claremont Graduate University where she earned her Masters degree in Education. After 10 years of teaching and coaching in Southern California, she moved back to Colorado.

Coach Atchison was part of the original staff when Mountain Vista opened and is currently in her 35th year of teaching and 25th year of coaching. She is the original pom coach for Vista and has seen great successes in this program.

For 15 years, Coach Atchison served as a board member for the Colorado Spirit Coaches Association and the Colorado High School Coaches Association to constantly improve the sport of Spirit. She is currently the CHSAA Dance Liaison, working with our CHSAA Commissioner to serve all pom coaches in the State. She has been named Coach of the Year for the Continental League 8 times and in 2008 and 2021 was chosen as the Colorado Dance Coach of the year. In 2018, she was awarded the prestigious Dale Yost Teacher/Coach of the Year by the Colorado High School Coaches Association. In 2022, she was recognized as a National Coach of the Year finalist at the Nationals Coaches Convention. She is most proud of her induction into the Colorado High School Coaches Hall of Fame in 2024. She is the first pom coach and only the second spirit coach to receive this honor.

The Vista Varsity Poms have captured 15 League and 17 Regional titles in Pom, Jazz and Hip-Hop, as well as 10 5A State titles and 6- State Runner-ups. Vista Poms is the only team in the State of Colorado to hold State titles in all 3 dance divisions: Pom (2006, 2008, 2009) Hip-Hop (2013, 2014) and Jazz (2010, 2015, 2018, 2021, 2023). The team has traveled to the National Dance Team Championships in Orlando, Florida where the team has finished Top 5 in both Pom and Jazz several times and danced in finals for 12 straight years. Currently the team attends NDA Nationals where they captured their first National Championship in the Medium Jazz division in 2017 and have grabbed 2 more titles in 2025 and 2026 earning their first back-to-back National title. 

In addition in 2025 the Vista Varsity Poms were selected as the US National Junior Pom team and earned a silver medal at the World championships as well as 2 gold medals in Beijing, China where they competed and toured for 10 days.

Coach Atchison loves being able to make a living following her passion. Her goal each year is to push every young dancer who enters the program to graduate as a strong, confident, leader in the world. She gets her support from her team, the parents, the community and most importantly her amazing husband Ron, daughter and son-in-law Britta and Michael and her precious grandson Weston.

ASSISTANT VARSITY COACH

LIZ ROSENTHAL

Coach Liz is a Mountain Vista Pom Alumni. She competed in the years 2006-2010 where she won three 5A Pom State Championships for Mountain Vista. She was part of the first state championship the program ever won in 2006. While she was on the team, Vista poms went undefeated in the state of Colorado in both Pom and Jazz for two years. They also placed top 5 at UDA nationals in both pom and jazz several times. She was a captain her senior year and was awarded the MVP “Most Valuable Pom” award at the end of her pom career with Vista.

Coach Liz went on to attend University of Colorado-Boulder where she continued to dance on the CU Buffaloes Dance Team. At CU, Liz competed at UDA college nationals for four years, winning top 5 in both pom and jazz her senior year. She also had the amazing opportunity to dance on the football field and basketball court for the CU Buffs. She was a captain of the dance team her senior year.

Along with dancing at CU Boulder, Coach Liz also earned her Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering and a Master’s degree in Structural Engineering. She graduated with the Ketchum award for Outstanding graduate of the Civil/Architectural/Environmental Engineering department and the Distinguished Senior award for the Civil Engineering department. She earned her Professional Engineering License and worked for 10 years as a structural engineer designing the structure for commercial, residential, and other types of buildings. Recently, Coach Liz decided to stay home to fulfill the most important job of being a mom to her two girls.

Coach Liz is going on her tenth year of coaching at Vista. While Liz has been a coach at Vista, the Varsity team has won multiple League championships, Regional championships, and State championships as well as multiple top three national finishes, including winning the program’s first national championship in 2017 in Medium Jazz and two more national championships in 2025 and 2026.

CO-JUNIOR VARSITY COACH

SYDNEY NOBLES

Coach Sydney is a Colorado native and a Mountain Vista Poms alumna. While competing on varsity poms from 2016–2020, she helped lead the team to Vista’s first-ever national championship in 2017 in the medium varsity jazz division. She also contributed to a state championship in 2018 and runner-up finishes in 2016, 2017, and 2019. The team placed in the top five at NDA Nationals in jazz multiple times. Sydney served as captain her senior year and was awarded the 2020 Sportswomen of Colorado Award, as well as the 2020 CHSCA All-State Games Award.

Coach Sydney graduated from the University of Colorado Boulder in May 2024. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education, along with a Culturally and Linguistically Diverse endorsement, and a master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction. She currently teaches first grade at Northridge Elementary School and absolutely loves it!

This is Coach Sydney’s fifth year coaching poms and her third year at Mountain Vista. She has helped the JV team win two league and state championships in the jazz division. She is excited to see what this season holds and to continue pushing dancers to be the best version of themselves. She looks forward to carrying on the Vista Poms legacy with passion and kindness.

CO-JUNIOR VARSITY COACH

SARAH BETTINGER

Coach Sarah is a Mountain Vista Poms Alumni. She was on JV her freshman year in 2012 and then moved up to Varsity where she won the program’s first-ever hip-hop state championship in 2013. She also won the program a second hip-hop state championship in 2014 and a jazz state championship in 2015. She was a co-captain and her team placed top 10 at NDA nationals in pom and jazz her senior year.

Coach Sarah graduated from Colorado State University in December 2019 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Zoology. She has a love for animals and conservation which moved her to Dallas, TX from 2021-2025. Coach Sarah left her role as Lead Large Mammal Zoologist at the Dallas Zoo in 2021 in order to move back to Colorado and be closer to family. She switched roles and is an Educational Assistant at an elementary school.

This will be Coach Sarah’s 5th season coaching poms and 3rd at Mountain Vista. She coached for 2 seasons at Fossil Ridge High School and helped develop their program into a competition focused team. She went on to coach JV at Mountain Vista for a year and had the most amazing experience coaching at her Alma mater. After moving back to Colorado, Coach Sarah immediately knew she wanted to come back and coach at Mountain Vista again and she helped the JV team win a league and state title last season.

As an alumni of the program, it’s incredibly special to be on the coaching staff of the team that shaped so much of who Coach Sarah is. She is eager to watch these athletes grow and succeed, share what she’s learned, and help carry on the Vista Poms legacy with passion and pride!

ASSISTANT COACH/admin ASSISTANT

BRITTA OBERMAN

Coach B brings a lifelong passion for dance and a deep-rooted connection to the program to her role as Assistant Coach. Having grown up attending practices since the age of four, she has a unique perspective on the team’s culture, history, and standards of excellence— with the program’s founder and head coach being her mom, Vista Poms runs in her blood through and through.

Britta trained extensively at Starstruck Academy of Dance from the age of nine, where she was a member of the studio’s All-Star Pom team and competitive company team. Her background includes experience in pom, hip hop, jazz, lyrical, and ballet, giving her a well-rounded technical foundation and versatility as both a dancer and coach.

During her time on the high school team, Coach B spent one year on junior varsity and two years on varsity, contributing to two state championship titles in the hip hop division as well as finishing as a finalist at the National Dance Team Competition. She was awarded as a UDA All American Dancer in 2014. Her experience as both an athlete and now a mentor allows her to lead with empathy, discipline, and a strong understanding of what it takes to succeed at a high level.

Even after graduation, Coach B has remained actively involved in the program—reviewing and critiquing performance film, attending competitions in support of the team, and staying engaged in evolving trends within the dance world. She recently joined the team at the Worlds competition, where Mountain Vista represented the US National Junior Pom Team in 2025.

As an Assistant Coach, she is passionate about helping dancers grow not only in their technical abilities, but also in confidence, teamwork, and resilience. She is dedicated to the legacy of Mountain Vista Poms and is excited to work with the next generation of dancers to continue the program’s tradition of excellence.

AUDITION INFORMATION

2026-2027 AUDITION DATES
Tuesday, April 21 – Thursday, April 23 @ 3 – 5pm in the Main Gym

FILL OUT OUR TRY OUT INTEREST FORM
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe1xhTcZqAYq9uvXg7uEEwekKxbtprJsRDz_8qeXni18QrEiQ/viewform?usp=dialog

AUDITION INFORMATION FOR 2026-2027 SEASON
Mandatory Parent/Dancer Interest meeting:  April 20, 6pm (MVHS Library)
2025-2026 Auditions: April 21 – April 23, 3-5pm (Main Gym)

Other Important Dates to Save Once Season Starts: 
Parent Meeting – April 28, 6pm (MVHS Library) 
Uniform Fitting – April 29, 3pm
NDA Camp – June 17-20 (CSU)

VARSITY REQUIREMENTS

1. Aerial on one side
2. Quad
3. Turn section: (prep back, tour, change spot, tour, change spot, double pirouette in front attitude (arms in first), tour, tour, double pirouette in posé, tour, tour, triple pirouette, soutenu on relevé out of turn sequence)
4. Turn section from this year’s varsity dance: (double pirouette in posé, tour, fouetté into double pirouette in attitude, tour, tour (arms rise above head through second into fifth), fast tour, fast tour, double pirouette in posé)
5. Turns from previous year varsity dance (triple, and double-double)
6. Head-spring
7. Kip-up
8. Strong double toe-touch

Working on:

1. Aerial from ground up on strong side
2. Double aerial
3. Aerial on both sides
4. 5 pirouettes

JV REQUIREMENTS

We just look for potential!

2026 Minis + Juniors Summer Camp 

June 9 – 11, 2-5pm

Register here: 
https://www.register.vistagoldeneagles.com/program/poms-mini-junior-camp/30871

ALUMNI IN THE DANCE WORLD

KARLI MOATS KOELLIKER
Vista Pom 2006-2010

Karli Koelliker (Moats) began her dance training at Starstruck Academy of Dance in Denver, Colorado, and was a member of their company team for 12 years. She has trained in ballet, jazz,
lyrical, contemporary, hip hop and pom. Karli was also a member and captain of Mountain Vista High School Poms. While she was on Vista, her and her team were 3 time State Champions and placed top 4 at UDA Nationals. Karli went on to dance with the BYU Cougarettes from 2010-2013. She was the head dance captain, and won 4 National titles with the Cougarettes in Hip Hop and Dance. Karli graduated from BYU with a degree in Public Health in 2014. From 2015-2017 Karli danced with contemporary dance company, Divinity, in Salt Lake City, UT. She also worked with Bonnie Story on multiple projects including a commercial for Marriott Hotels, and the Hallmark Christmas Movie “My Christmas Love”.

Currently, Karli resides in San Francisco with her husband John and sons Cal, Wes, Crew and Jack. She teaches at Hi-Light Academy and choreographs for nationally ranked studios and teams
throughout the nation! 

MELANIE RUFIEN
Vista Pom 2009-2013

Melanie is a Colorado native, who graduated from Mountain Vista High School in 2013. At Vista, she was part of the dance team for four years, and won two State Championships. She
continued to foster her love of dance as part of the University of Colorado Dance Team, becoming team captain and being awarded “The Spirit of the Buffalo” as a senior. Melanie received a Bachelor’s of Arts degree from the University of Colorado in
Speech, Language, Hearing Sciences, with a minor in Leadership. Melanie is currently earning a Master’s Degree from CU Denver in Early Childhood Special Education. Melanie realized at a young age she had a passion
for working with special needs individuals. Melanie is the
founder, lead instructor and the heart behind of the Special Angels dance program. Special Angels reflects Melanie’s dream to combine her passions of dance and helping those with special
needs. 

MEREDITH SCHLEY
Vista Pom 2010-2014

Meredith was on Mountain Vista Poms from 2010-2014. She attended college at the University of Colorado Boulder where she was on their dance team from 2014-2018. Upon graduation,
Meredith was selected to be a member of the Colorado Mammoth Wild Bunch Dancers. She had the opportunity to dance for the NLL team at all of their home games for the 2018-2019 season. Meredith was most recently selected to be a
Denver Nuggets Dancer. 

Meredith is also a SPARK certified instructor which is a high school dance team training program. In her free time, Meredith teaches pom and hip hop classes at Michelle Latimer Dance
Academy. Outside of dance, she is a 2nd grade teacher at Red Hawk Ridge Elementary in the Cherry Creek School District. 

CONTACT US

SPIRIT DIRECTOR & POMS HEAD COACH
KERI ATCHISON
klatchison@dcsdk12.org

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