by Dennis Dalman
news@thenewsleaders.com
Although they didn’t kick their way to top glory, the Sartell Sabre Dance Team was ecstatic when they won second place in the Class 2A “high kick” division in state competition last week at Minneapolis Target Center.
The coaches and dancers all agreed it was their best performance through an award-winning year. They were there to defend their “high kick” title from last year. In 2005, they took fifth-place at state for high kick.
First place went to the Chaska High School team, and St. Cloud Cathedral High School took third place.
The day before, the Sartell Sabre dancers took sixth place in the Class 2A “jazz” competition.
Last weekend’s performances by the Sabre dancers was their third consecutive time they made state competition. They also went to state in 2007 and 2008.
The Sabre Dance Team’s impressive showing at state came after winning a triple-whammy in the past few weeks. On Jan. 28, the dancers won the Central Lakes Conference Dance competition.
On Feb. 4, the team scored a rare triumph when it placed tops in both jazz and high-kick at the Section 4AA meet at Sartell High School.