Winning routine

Shelton High dance team takes second at state in military category

Matt Baide | Mar 31, 20220

Courtesy photo count

The Shelton High School dance team poses for a photo at the 1A/2A state championship meet Saturday in Yakima.

The Shelton dance team placed second in the 1A/2A military dance category at the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association state dance meet in Yakima on Saturday.

"It feels so rewarding, the team has worked so hard to make it to state, and for us to bring home some hardware was the cherry on top and made all those early mornings so worth it," senior captain Zoe Salas wrote in an email to the Journal. "The team's reaction was priceless. Everyone was running to each other crying, screaming and hugging and you could feel how excited everyone was! The state experience for this team was perfect. It was everything and more. It was such a great bonding experience and really brought everyone together even more."

Shelton received a rating of 235.70 on its military routine, which is an excellent rating. Royal won the 1A/2A military dance championship with an exceptional rating of 250.08.

The Highclimbers also competed in the 1A/2A pom routine and placed just outside of a trophy in fourth place with an exceptional rating of 247.50, just behind third place Sehome with 250.55. Selah won the 1A/2A pom routine championship with a score of 258.50.

"Bringing home a trophy meant the world to us," senior Kylie Walker wrote in an email. "Considering this is the first time our team has been to state in five years, this was a major accomplishment for us. We worked extremely hard, and all of our determination really paid off in the end."

Walker said earning second place was amazing and the team's goal was to do the best they could do.

"The experience that state provided our team was nothing like a regular competition," Walker said. "While we were all very nervous, we performed our best performances yet. The stands were full of parents and other teams supporting and watching us, and it was awesome to experience something like that as a team. There was so much energy on the floor and it pushed all of us to do our best."