The Becker Dazzler girls dance team competed in the Granite Ridge Conference All-Conference Meet at St. Cloud Cathedral High School Thursday.

 

The varsity and JV kick and jazz teams took second place in all categories.

 

Varsity Jazz

1). St. Cloud Cathedral;

2). Becker;

3). Zimmerman;

4). Albany;

 

1). St. Cloud Cathedral;

2). Becker;

3). Albany;

4). Zimmerman;

 

1). St. Cloud Cathedral;

2). Becker;

3). Albany;

 

1). St. Cloud Cathedral;

2). Becker;

3). Albany.

 

Lindsey Baloun, Heather Sanders, Madison Anderson, Alexandra Laudenbach, Mikayla Henkemeyer and Ali Bloom were named All-Conference.

Zimmerman earned the All Conference Team Academic Award with a cumulative GPA of 3.67, with Becker a very close second with a GPA of 3.607.

 

The Becker Dance Team took home some “hardware” from the Monticello Dance Team Invitational last Saturday.

 

In the high kick event, the team finished in the second place spot.

 

“I was very pleased with our performance at Monticello,” said Coach Julie Baloun. “We have had an unpredictable season in regards to things like injuries and illness. The number of girls dancing varsity kick this year seems to fluctuate from competition to competition.” 

 

Baloun added that last minute adjustments needed to be made to formations and placements within the routine to get the best performance. 

 

“Even with those changes the team went out and danced more confidently than I have seen this season,” she said.  

 

Apollo finished first and last year’s top team — Albany — finished third. 

 

“Our highest scores came in the categories of visual effectiveness and creativity and difficulty of kicks,” said Baloun. “We continue to look for ways to increase our scores in preparation for the upcoming all conference meet and section tournament.”

 

In the jazz event, the team took home the third place trophy.

 

“Last season at this same competition we earned the first place honors, so third place might seem disappointing,” said Head Coach Laura Anderson. “However, our goal as a team in preparation for the Class 2AA Sections Tournament Jan. 31 is to increase our score and we did that as compared to last year.” 

 

The jazz team scored  26 points higher and the girls were very excited about the double digit increase over last season. Apollo took first place, scoring just nine points higher than Becker. 

 

“Apollo has a well established team and scoring so close to them is also something for the team to be excited about,” said Anderson. 

 

Apollo did not compete at this event last year. 

 

The varsity jazz team continues to deliver very solid performances and the coaches were excited to see how the team performs at the Granite Ridge All Conference Meet Thursday. 

 

“We are currently second place in jazz in the conference following St. Cloud Cathedral,” said Anderson. “We have the Blaine High School Dance Team Invitational Jan. 24 and I am optimistic about our placement there. Our sections tournament on Jan. 31 will determine which teams advance to the Minnesota State Dance Team Tournament.”

 

The JV kick and jazz teams also celebrated earning some of the top spots at this event with the jazz team placing second and the kick team placing third.

 

“I'm very excited that we earned top three in both JV kick and jazz this past weekend,” said JV Coach Nadia Fischer-Danziesen. “We are outscoring our competitors in kick height, execution and routine effectiveness. The trend from kick follows into jazz as we continue to have the best scores in execution and routine effectiveness.”

 

Fischer-Danziesen said choreography and visual creativity have also been getting good scores. 

 

“As our JV season is coming to a close, I think back to our first week of practice and most of the athletes (and their skills) are unrecognizable,” she said. “They have come such a long way in a few short months, and I am extremely proud of them.”

 

Up next, the Dazzlers compete in their final regular season invitational at Blaine next Saturday, then compete at sections the following Saturday in Big Lake.

 

(IN PHOTOS: Middle: Front Row (Left to Right): Assistant Varsity Coach Julie Baloun, Varsity Coach Laura Anderson, Captains Alexandra Laudenbach, Lindsey Baloun, Heather Sanders, and Madison Anderson, Volunteer Coach Amanda Smith and JV Coach Nadia Fischer-Danziesen. Second Row (Left to Right): Alyssa Ludens, Kate Hemminger, Rachel Pena, Georgia Thom, Madi Pleoger, Sami Stellmach, Makenna Kiffmeyer and Grace Jacobson. Third Row (Left to Right): Amber Mechtel, Melody Swanson, Mary Goenner, Lauren Baloun, Cienna Pleoger, Ali Bloom and Mikayla Henkemeyer. Fourth Row (Left to Right): Izzy Swanson, Autumn Martin, Bella Watts and Morgan Meyer.)