Dance: HHS shines bright in season opener
The Highland High School varsity dance team got off to a big start to the season after bagging two first-place finishes and one second place at the Yvonne Cole Invitational, which was held on Saturday at Lindbergh High School in St. Louis.
The Lady Bulldogs nabbed first place in both 3A Dance and in 3A Pom, while they also took second in 3A Hip Hop.
Highland’s varsity dance team also received the Outstanding Precision Award from out of the 85 total routines performed on the day, while the Lady Bulldogs also received the High Point Award for having the highest total combined points for teams competing with three different routines.
In addition, the Highland Middle School dance team earned second place in Dance.
“This competition is typically a tough one for the HHS dance teams,” HHS coach Michelle Deets said. “As the only Illinois school there, we were up against some serious Missouri competition. This was a great way to start our competitive season, and I am so proud of the hard work that both teams put in over the past several weeks.”
In the next two months, the HHS and HMS dancers will continue with their competition schedule. Both the varsity and middle school schedules include upcoming competitions in the Illinois Drill Team Association (IDTA) circuit. In addition, the varsity dance team will also be preparing to compete in the IHSA State Finals competition.
The HHS varsity dance team, which is coached by Deets and assisted by Emily Wellen, features Ally Becker, Kayla Davis, Leslie Drueke, Katie Etter, Paige Foster, Olivia Genteman, Lexy Hagler, Kelsey Lane, Hannah Luitjohan, Raven Miranda, Claire Pabst, Abigail Rogier, McKenzie Rosen, Reagan Thornton and Brooke Wilson.
The HMS dance team, which is coached by former HHS dancer and HHS graduate Erin Cotto, includes Tegan Beard, Madysen Castile, Paige Crawford, Kate Drueke, Bree Etherton, Alexis Finley, Kylie Jakel, Kylie McFarland, Abbey Mortland, Shelby Stallard, Riley Stewart and Tatum Stock.
Next up for both the HHS varsity dance team and the HMS dance squad is the Illinois Drill Team Association (IDTA) Althoff Regional this Saturday.
This story was originally published December 7, 2015 at 7:45 AM with the headline "Dance: HHS shines bright in season opener."