Members of the Jacksonville High School dance team perform at the IHSA Competitive Dance State Finals on Friday. The J'ettes went on to win this year's state title beating squads from Morris, Highland and nine other teams that advanced to Day 2 competition.
PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks
BLOOMINGTON - Jacksonville dance head coach Tiffany Hickox and her dance team have done it again. Outscoring the perennial small school dance powerhouse Morris by a mere five-hundredths of a point, the J'ettes took home their second-consecutive state dance title on Saturday after two days of competition at Grossinger Motors Arena. Members of this year's championship troupe include Lauren Deen, Greta Bryson-Adams, Lily Hickox, Charlotte Brockhouse, Emma Wolters, Kylie Chumley, Hailey Weeks, Elizabeth Stremming, Samantha Lawson, Lindsey Hautala, Jacey Evans, and Kimmy Davis. The team is managed by Lily Rohlk and Marley VanAken. Morris, who has finished runner-up six times and won one title in the past eight years prior to this weekend, could not sway the judges, earning yet another second-place state trophy, finishing with a score of 89.96. Carmel High School (89.44) and Joliet Catholic Academy (89.01) finished third and fourth, respectively. Providence Catholic(88.52), who was in xplace after the first day of competition finished in x place. Marion (6th) and Highland (7th) round out the top seven places out of 30 dance programs, earning scores of 87.34 and 85.44 respectively.
This story was updated 1/29/25 with updated scores and standings. The original story inadvertenely used results from the previous year. We apologize for the error.
