Sports
Three Local Teams Kick High at State Dance Tournament
The Totino-Grace E'gals finished second in the Class AA high kick event, while Fridley and Spring Lake Park danced but did not advance.
Three local high-kick dance teams competed in the state tournament Saturday, with Totino-Grace High School making it two-for-two—finishing second in the Class AA high kick division to go along with .
The E'gals were the only Class AA team to take home trophies in both events.
made the Class AA tournament field and danced well in the qualifying rounds, but didn't gain a spot in the top six.
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Spring Lake Park made the Class AAA meet in both jazz and high kick, winning two Section 3AAA crowns at Bloomington Kennedy last weekend. , but couldn't advance into the high kick finals.
Sartell-St. Stephen won the Class AA high kick championship Saturday night at the Target Center in Minneapolis in the 2011 Girls Dance Team State Tournament before a crowd estimated at about 7,000. Totino-Grace was second and Academy of Holy Angels third.
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“In general, in both of finals the girls performed their best,” said Totino Grace head coach Kristen Gagnon. “They were very energized and in control and danced well as a team.”
Gagnon said the E’gals executed well a difficult jazz routine Friday. They came back Saturday, got their nervousness out during the qualifying well, and danced terrifically in the high kick finals.
“They went out in the finals and nailed the routine,” Gagnon said. “They danced with tons of energy and had a visual rapport with the audience.”
Judges scored Totino Grace mostly in the 90s Saturday, with a high of 95 and a low of 85.
Totino-Grace and Holy Angels switched positions from last year's state meet, in which the E'gals were third. Five of the six place-winning teams from the 2010 meet returned, and the dancing was very competitive Saturday.
It was another in a long list of state dance team success for the E'gals, who won eight Class AA high kick titles between 1995 and 2003.
Defending Class AA state high-kick champion St. Cloud Cathedral made it to state, but didn't qualify for the six team finals. The top 12 Class AA teams advanced from last week's sectionals to state.
