Energized dance team kicks its way to state
ELK RIVER - The Brainerd Warrior dance team had more energy than it had all season Saturday at the Section 3, 3A meet at Elk River High School.
The team's high energy won it a spot to compete at the state competition in kick on Feb. 18th at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.
The Brainerd team took second place in kick, trailing behind St. Cloud Tech by only one ranking point. The top three teams at the section meet qualified for state. Joining the St. Cloud and Brainerd dance teams at state will be the Blaine dance team.
Brainerd did not qualify for state in jazz. It took sixth place.
Head Coach Cindy Clough said, "I'm proud of their performance. It was not their best performance in kick, but it was one of the higher ones up there.
"We had no major errors in kick or in jazz."
Clough said the dancers put a great deal of effort in their performance.
"Everyone had a great deal of energy and that was a team goal of ours," said Clough. "Our kicks were higher and everyone did a good job controlling their nerves."
In jazz, Clough said she saw a few errors, but said it was one of the team's best performances.
"We knew going into jazz that we were the underdogs," said Clough. "We tried to squeak into one of the top three spots, but it didn't work out. We were pretty close in ranking points to fourth and fifth places."
The results in kick were St. Cloud Tech, first, five ranking points; Brainerd, second, six; Blaine, third; 13; Elk River, fourth, 15; Coon Rapids, fifth, 19.5; Champlin Park, sixth, 21; Andover, seventh, 26; Anoka, eighth, 33; Moorhead, ninth, 35; St. Francis, 10th, 38.5; Bemidji, 11th, 43; Buffalo, 12th, 47; and Cambridge-Isanti, 13th, 52.
The results in jazz were St. Cloud Tech, first, four ranking points; Blaine, second, seven; Coon Rapids, third, 12.5; Champlin Park, fourth, 17; Elk River, fifth, 18; Brainerd, sixth, 19.5; Anoka, seventh, 26.5; Andover, eighth, 32; Moorhead, ninth, 36; St. Francis, 10th, 40; Bemidji, 11th, 43; and Cambridge-Isanti, 12th, 48.
The Brainerd dancers were overjoyed about advancing to the state competition.
"It feels great to be going to state," said Erica Hensel, a senior. "I hoped we'd get in the top three in kick. When we were out there the energy was great and we had a lot of help from the crowd. We plan to keep working hard."
Ashley Sliver, senior and a captain, said she was excited to go to state since this is her last year on the dance team. She said now the team will go home and work hard to do well at the state competition.
"We deserve it ...We worked hard," said ninth-grader Kelsey Johnson.
Katelyn Schmaltz, a freshman, said, "I'm surprised and so excited to be going to state. Our energy was up there and we went out and had fun."
Seniors Jessica Forstner and Taylor Thompson, also both captains of the team, were proud of the team and said it did a good job in kick and jazz. Forstner said it is a huge accomplishment for the team to qualify for state and the team will have to work extra hard from now until state competition time.
"It was a lot of fun and state is going to rock," added senior Ella Strother.
JENNIFER STOCKINGER can be reached at jennifer.stockinger@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5851.