Section champions in one and tied for second in the other is how the Brainerd Warriors left the Elk River gym Saturday.
The Warriors captured the Section 4-3A kick title and tied with St. Cloud Tech in jazz to advance both routines to the state tournament.
“It is always the toughest day of the season because if you don’t end up in the top three — it’s over,” said Warriors head coach Cindy Clough. “We are thrilled to be going in both. In kick, I felt pretty confident we were going to be in the to and really felt we should win. You never know how the chips are going to fall so it is a nerve-filled day.
“In jazz, we thought we would be up there, too, as we had come out ahead of everyone in our section numerous times. The jazz top three were not the same as I had or most or the crowd had. I feel bad for Andover and Duluth East as they got beat out and I truly felt it was their year to go to state.”
Brainerd secured 578 total points and five rank points in the kick competition to top St. Cloud Tech’s 579 points and six rank points and Blaine’s 552 points and 11 rank points. Brainerd’s Choreography and routine effectiveness scores were keys to the win.
“I felt the team really pulled together and danced as one,” said senior Abbie Browne.
Blaine won the jazz competition with 565 total points and a rank point of seven. Tech and Brainerd tied with nine rank points. Brainerd scored 559 total points compared to Tech’s 558.
“It was a great last section meet,” said Brainerd senior Grace Gilbertson. “It felt less stressful as I felt we were more prepared than usual this year.”
Brainerd will put on a show to help “keep the fever going.” It’s two weeks before the state tournament and Clough said the team will continue to work on timing and tweak anything that needs cleaning or enhancing.
Kick
1-Brainerd
Kicks: 168
Execution: 114
Choreography: 119
Difficulty: 115
Routine Effectiveness: 62
Total Points: 578
Rank Points: 5
2-St. Cloud Tech
Kicks: 175
Execution: 113
Choreography: 116
Difficulty: 114
Routine Effectiveness: 61
Total Points: 579
Rank Points: 6
3-Blaine
Kicks: 166
Execution: 109
Choreography: 111
Difficulty: 108
Routine Effectiveness: 58
Total Points: 552
Rank Points: 11
Jazz
1-Blaine
Jazz Skills: 171
Execution: 112
Choreography: 110
Difficulty: 116
Routine Effectiveness: 56
Total Points: 565
Rank Points: 7
2t-St. Cloud Tech
Jazz Skills: 171
Execution: 109
Choreography: 112
Difficulty: 111
Routine Effectiveness: 55
Total Points: 558
Rank Points: 9
2T-Brainerd
Jazz Skills: 170
Execution: 110
Choreography: 112
Difficulty: 111
Routine Effectiveness: 56
Total Points: 559
Rank Points: 9
