Warrior dance team 2nd, 3rd

The Brainerd Warrior dance team took second place in kick and third place in jazz Saturday at a dance invitational at Maple Grove High School.

Head Coach Cindy Clough in an e-mail said, "Maple Grove was second in the state last year so we knew they were going to give us a run. We didn't have a flawless performance but felt it was one of our best yet, so we will keep fine tuning and working. We also feel we need to do some music editing to beef up some sections and tweak choreography."

The kick results were Maple Grove, first place; Brainerd, second; St. Cloud Tech, third; Irondale, fourth; Andover, fifth; St. Francis, sixth; Shakopee, seventh; and Coon Rapids, eighth.

Clough said she was "pretty thrilled" with the jazz meet since Maple Grove, first-place winner, is a jazz powerhouse and would be hard to beat. Clough said Spring Lake Park, second-place winner, just moved to Class 3A after being a three-time Class 2A state champion.

Clough said, "Turns continue to be our issue. Technically our dancers are getting better and better. We just need to work on the confidence in our turns. They do better at practice than at the event. Turns are very mental, similar to free throws or golf. It can be a head game. I feel confident we can improve and come out stronger as the year progresses."

The jazz results were Maple Grove, first; Spring Lake Park, second; Brainerd, third; Anoka, fourth; Irondale, fifth; Andover, sixth; and Coon Rapids, seventh.

The junior varsity team placed first in its kick competition.

The dance team's next conference meet is set Jan. 8 at Rocori High School.