The Sentinel: SJO Dance Team

Going to state! SJO Dance Team advances to Competitive Dance State Finals

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 site
10:00 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

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Spartans and Rockets dance squads advance to state finals

MASCOUTAH - The SJO Dance Team and Unity Rockettes placed in top six at the Mascoutah Sectional, advancing to the Illinois High School Association's Competitive Dance State Finals this Friday and Saturday at Grossinger Motors Arena in Bloomington.

A member of the SJO Dance Team performs during the halftime show at the Toyota of Danville Basketball Tournament last month. The 11 talented dancers advance to Friday's IHSA state finals in Bloomington on Friday.

The Spartans finished third in Saturday's subsectional competition against 14 other schools, earning a score of 81.87. Unity, in the same subsectional finished ahead of Mattoon with a 78.83 in fifth place.

The sectional championship title went to Jacksonville (90.07), with Clinton (87.57) finishing in the runnerup spot.

The state final competition will at 101 South Madison Street. Tickets can be purchased online at here or by calling the box office at the area at 309-434-2777.

The IHSA will annouce the performance order later this week.

Mascoutah Dance Sectional Standings

1 Jacksonville 90.07
2 Clinton 87.57
3 St. Joseph-Ogden 81.87
4 Quincy Notre Dame 79.90
5 Unity 78.83
6 Mattoon 77.23

SJO dance team qualifies for state finals, Unity dancers will also be there

SJO Dance Team performs at home basketball game

Members of the SJO Dance Team perform during halftime of the Spartans' home game against Prairie Central. The squad finished sixth at last Saturday's sectional meet in Effingham advancing to the IHSA Competitive State Dance Finals on Friday in Bloomington.

Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

Effingham - The St. Joseph-Ogden Dance Team qualified for the IHSA Competitive Dance State Finals for the fifth time in program history at the St. Anthony Sectional on Saturday.

"We are very excited that the team has qualified, they have been working towards this goal all season and it feels good to have accomplished the first step of it!" said head coach Emily Williams, who has engineered the Spartan dance program to state all five times.

SJO will perform at approximately 1:13 pm in Friday's preliminary round at Grossinger Motors Arena. Unity's dance team, who also qualified for state placing third at the sectional meet, will take the stage 16 minutes later at 1:29.

Only the top 90 dance programs from the more than 800 Illinois High School Association member schools will display the fruit of their hard work, talent, and choreography on Friday. Making the cut for state, SJO and Unity are already among the top 30 small-school dance squads in Illinois.

Williams and the dance team hope to have a large contingent of fans, classmates, and supporters on hand to watch them perform.

"We are so excited to have fellow students, family, and friends in Bloomington on Friday to cheer us on," Williams said. "There is no better feeling than seeing a section full of SJO fans and hearing the cheers as we take the floor."

Fan energy can play a huge part in a team advancing to the final round. Out of the 30 qualifiers from the three classes, only 12 teams advance to the championship round on Saturday.

"IHSA state is a big deal and an exciting time for our school and community," she added. "We will appreciate all of the support."

In the meantime, the SJO Dance Team will spend the next four days polishing their routine to impress the judges. While the Spartan program has qualified for state four times since 2014, qualifying for the trophy round has been elusive.

"State is tough. We will go over our routine this week, count by count, and clean it up," Williams explained. "We will make any necessary changes early in the week, so we can drill it over and over before Friday."

The Unity dance team has advanced past the prelims four times since the 2014-15 season. The most recent appearance was just before the Covid-19 pandemic in 2019, when the squad finished in 6th place, the program's highest finish to date. Counting this weekend's success, Unity has qualified for state seven times. This is trip number one for first-year head coach Maddy Wilson.

Tickets are $11 per person and are now on sale online at Ticket Master. Tickets are also available by calling the City Box Office at (309) 434-2777. Doors open at 9:15a on Friday.

Sectional standings

1 Jacksonville 89.20
2 Clinton 82.13
3 Unity 78.08
4 Quincy Notre Dame 77.23
5 Lincoln 74.30
6 St. Joseph-Ogden 73.60

Photo of the Day |
March 3, 2021

Making the right moves

Members of the St. Joseph-Ogden Dance Team perform the IHSA Competitive Dance State Finals in January of 2020. Despite an excellent performance and a score of 76.88, the Spartans did not advance to Saturday's championship round finishing in 21st place after the first day of Class 1A competition.

Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

Photo of the Day - December 14, 2020

SJO Dance Team performs in 2012 — Members of the 2016 SJO Dance team perform to the song All I want for Christmas during halftime of the Leader Classic Holiday Basketball Tournament. The Spartans went on to win the 2016 title game by way of a 84-71 victory. Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

Photo of the Day - December 3, 2020

Dancer Kirsten Dalton performs at football game

Photo of the Day |
November 19, 2020

Spartans take center stage at state

Members of the St. Joseph-Ogden Dance Team compete the IHSA Competitive Dance State Finals in January. Despite an excellent performance and a score of 76.88, the Spartans did not advance to Saturday's championship round after finishing in 21st place after the first day of Class 1A competition.

Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

Spotlight on SJO senior Lexi Ribbe

Lexi Ribbe

Clubs & Activities

Cheer (2 years), Dance (1 year), Maroon Platoon, Maroon Platoon Leader, Advisory Mentoring Program, Spanish Club

Hometown:
St. Joseph

Siblings:
Older brother

Hobbies:
Traveling, walking, shopping, listening to music, and spending time with family and friends.

Favorite SJO memories:
She will definitely remember all of the home and away games she has gone to over the years, and being with her friends at these games was a great experience. She has also enjoyed being an office helper with Mrs. Hoveln and Mrs. Falls the past two years.

Favorite classes:
Geometry with Mr. Kiel Duval, Advanced Biology with Mrs. Stacey Kietzman, P.E. with Mr. William Billman, and Economics and Civics with Mr. Marshall Schacht.

Favorite teachers:
Mrs. Pridemore at St. Joseph Grade School; Mrs. Hilton at St. Joseph Middle School; and Mr. Duval, Mrs. Lianne Rash, and Mrs. Kietzman at St. Joseph-Ogden High School.

College:
University of Oklahoma, majoring in radiology

Advice to future SJO students:
Enjoy high school, do your best, and get involved.

Text provided by St. Joseph-Ogden High School.

Back-to-back, SJO Dance Team qualifies for IHSA state finals

For a second consecutive season, the St. Joseph-Ogden Dance Team will compete at the Illinois High School Association's Competitive State Dance Finals at Grossinger Motors Arena in Bloomington. The Spartans gracefully danced their way to state after finishing in fourth place at the Effingham sectional last Saturday.

Members of the SJO Dance Team perform their hip-hop routine at the Spartans' home basketball game against Paxton-Buckley-Loda. (Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)

"We are so excited to be going to IHSA State again this year! I believe we have the hardest 1A sectional in the state and we competed against a lot of really good teams on Saturday," said head coach Emily Williams. "I knew these girls could do it, but also knew the competition was very tough, so we are elated to have made the top six out of the 17 teams in our sectional!"

The top six teams from five sectionals around the state advanced to the state finals this weekend. SJO finished with a score of 82.40 behind the Unity Rockettes' 83.97 and Clinton's 89.77. Jacksonville High School won the sectional title with a score of 89.83. Host St. Anthony took fifth place and Quincy Notre Dame rounded out the top six schools in the division.

"It’s fun to bring something new, when everyone is expecting you to do what you’ve always done!"

The dance team is the fourth St. Joseph-Ogden athletic program to qualify for state finals competition this academic year. Both the girls and boys cross country squads, along with the Class 2A third-place volleyball team, have earned the title of state finalists since last August.

Williams says there are several elements to being a successful competitive dancer.

"(It is) mostly hard work, dedication and willingness to get out of your comfort zone," she said. "Dancers also need patience, as you aren’t going to be able to do new things overnight. The love for dance might be the most important thing, it makes all of the hard work and dedication worth it."

The Spartans will perform their routine in the preliminary round at the 'Big Dance' on Friday at 10:47am. The top 12 teams advance to Saturday's Class 1A finals.

"We definitely have to bring our A-game on Friday," Williams said. "We will need to hit all of our choreography and technique. We also always remind the girls that no matter how nervous they are, they have to go out there and have fun and that will show through in their dancing."

This will be the fourth trip to the state finals for the SJO program since the IHSA started hosting a competitive dance state series in 2013. Dancers in 2014, 2016 and last year have performed in the prelims. This year could be the first time in school history that SJO dancers will have a chance to compete in the finals.

In the past three trips to state the St. Joseph-Ogden squads performed hip-hop routines. This year's competition routine will be different.

"We are competing with our lyrical routine for IHSA this year, which is a first for our team," Williams, who said her team is great at performing both lyrical and hip-hop routines. Like the other athletic teams the school supports, Spartans are never ones to shy away from a challenge. "It’s fun to bring something new, when everyone is expecting you to do what you’ve always done!"

Lyrical dance is typically composed of movements and techniques from classical ballet, modern and jazz dance. Routines are usually expressive and innovative. Performed to music, the movements designed to express strong feelings and emotions interpreted from the song's lyrics by the choreographer.

Members expected to compete on Friday include captains senior Ava Mills and juniors Isabelle Brooks and Samantha Naylor. Lexi Ribbe, the squad's only other senior this season, along with juniors Kylie Duckett, Tessa Smith, Bella Getty, and two sophomores, Ella Besson and Alessa Anzelmo, will be on the competition floor on Friday morning.

Dance has a date at state

This week, the SJO Dance Team will undoubtedly be working harder than they have all season - happily, without a doubt - in preparation for their 10:33 performance at the IHSA Competitive Dance State Finals on Friday. The squad will compete against 29 other teams that advanced to the state semifinals from their respective sectionals on Saturday.

However, the squad was just a snowball's throw away from not having the opportunity to even compete against the other top small school dance teams from around the state.

SJO Dance Team performs during a home game

Members of the SJO Dance Team perform during a home game earlier this month. The Spartans head to state after finishing 5th at last weekend's IHSA sectional in Mascoutah. See more SJO dancers in action. (Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)

With a major winter event predicted to roll through central Illinois that would make highway travel precarious and possibly dangerous, the Dance Team was notified on Friday that they would not be traveling to the Illinois High School Association's Mascoutah sectional on the following day. SJO, like many other area schools using the same weather forecast as a guide, canceled all of their planned activities anticipating nasty conditions.

"The predicted weather forecast was not looking favorable for our area, on top of the fact that we had a 3 hour drive to our sectional," head coach Emily Williams explained. A SJO dance alumna herself, she has been the team's head coach for the past nine years. "Our administration made a decision that it would not be a safe trip for our dancers and their families. They also called off all other SJO activities for the weekend."

Williams said she and school administrators met with the disappointed athletes and parents on Friday afternoon explaining the decision. She pointed out that administrators from five other area schools also canceled their travel plans to the sectional competition.

However, on Saturday morning the expected 6-to-8 inch of snowfall failed to materialize. Williams and several parents contacted St. Joseph-Ogden superintendent Brian Brooks to see if they could make the trip.

"(Mr. Brooks) checked every radar possible and went out and drove several roads around Saint Joe," Williams said. "The decision was made by our administration that we could go as long as we could get a hold of IHSA and make sure it was okay with them."

Athletic director Justin Franzen was then able to square things away with the IHSA to make sure the squad could still compete. Soon after the dance team and loyal fans were on the road headed toward southern Illinois.

The team competed against 12 schools for one of the top six spots to punch their ticket to state finals at Grossinger Motors Arena in Bloomington. The Spartans' performance was fifth best of the day.

With a final score of 85.13, SJO finished by behind the sectional champions Villa Grove (88.67), Civic Memorial (87.60), Unity (86.57) and St. Anthony (85.67). Clinton filled the last state-finalist slot with a score of 85.10.

This will be the third to trip to state for the program since the IHSA began hosting them in 2013. The Spartans made it to state in both 2014 and 2016.

Williams hopes to see plenty of St. Joseph-Ogden family and friends filling seats in the arena and cheering for her girls. A fan bus is being organized by the school. She expects details to be available on the school website by Wednesday.

A SJO dance team member performs during the Spartans' home game against Villa Grove-Heritage earlier this month. The group hopes to see lots of fans at Grossinger Motors Arena cheering them on. (Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)

"Our dancers would love to see as many people in maroon, white, and Columbia Blue on Friday as possible," Williams said. "We have a great group of girls who are much more like a family than a team. They have worked very hard and are elated to have earned the chance to compete in the IHSA State prelims on Friday."

For now until Friday, the SJO Dance Team will be working to perfect their routine and fixed deficiencies noted by last weekend's panel of judges.

We will be practicing everyday and will break down our hip hop routine, piece by piece," Williams said. "We will go over our scoresheets from Saturday’s sectional and see what the judges said we can improve on."

Members expected to compete at Friday's state semifinal include Erin Beyers, Kalli Ingram, Haley Griebat, Rachel Gherna, Kaitlyn Hess, Ava Mills, Sara Milioli, Samantha Naylor, Isabelle Brooks, Kylie Duckett, Tessa Smith, Bella Getty, Ella Besson and Alessa Anzelmo.