A member of the Spartan Dance Team performs at halftime during St. Joseph-Ogden's home basketball game against Warrensburg-Latham at the Christie Clinic Shootout. The Spartan finished fourth at the St. Anthony Competitive Dance sectional on Saturday. Advancing to the state final prelims on Friday, SJO will perform at 10:39 AM for a spot in Saturday's championship round.
Photo: Sentinel/Clark Brooks
EFFINGHAM — The Spartan Dance Team secured their third consecutive trip to the Illinois High School Association Competitive State Dance Finals after finishing fourth at the St. Anthony sectional on Saturday. The eleven-member troupe earned a score of 80.17, placing behind Jacksonville (90.27), the defending Class 1A state champions. Clinton took second place, with St. Anthony finishing third, joining nine other small school programs at Bloomington's Grossinger Motors Arena for the state finals. Four additional local teams competed at sectionals but did not advance. Villa Grove placed 7th, Unity 9th, and Rantoul 16th at Effingham. Mahomet-Seymour finished 11th in their sectionals, completing the area teams that did not advance. In Class 2A at Mahomet, Champaign Central finished third behind Bradley-Bourbonnais and Washington. The Maroons are scheduled to perform at 1:49 PM on Friday. The Spartan Dance Team roster includes Olivia Getty, Reese Wheatley, Adelyn Childers, Abigail Getty, Gracyn Sjoken, Abigail Bello, Alivia Learned, Hadley McDonald, Lilly Sollars, Ava Gallo, and Lilyah Jones. Alyssa Hudson coaches the Spartans, assisted by Kaitlyn Hess. Tickets for Friday's preliminary competition are $12 at the door and can be purchased in advance online via TicketMaster or by phone at the City Box Office at (309) 434-2777.
Schedule for Friday
SESSION 1 - 1A & 2A Preliminaries
9:15 a.m. Doors open to the State Final venue site10:00 a.m. Welcome
10:10 a.m. Announcements & National Anthem
10:15 a.m. First Performance (1A & 2A Alternate Performances)
12:15 p.m. Officials Break
2:21 p.m. Last Performance
2:40 p.m. Announcement of 1A Finalists
2:50 p.m. Announcement of 2A Finalists
