A clean sweep for Clayton Ridge dance team

DES MOINES - The words meant more than the hardware.

'You seem to dance so well together, as a team. That is something to cherish.”

This was a phrase relayed to the Clayton Ridge Drill Team on its critique tape from the 2016 Iowa State Dance/Drill Team State Championships. This was the long-term goal - building a true family.

ISDTA, celebrating 40 years of state competition in 2016, is the largest state competition in the United States, with more than 1,500 dancers participating and more 500 teams. Consequently, it also makes this the toughest competition to compete in. Small School Prop and Small School Military have been said to be the two toughest divisions in the whole competition, making them arguably the toughest in the United States.

That Clayton Ridge had its work cut out for it.

Returning as defending champions in Small School Prop, Clayton Ridge had not won a back-to-back state championship since 2006. Ten years later, the Eagles' time had come. Performing at 10:15 in the morning in the Wells Fargo Arena, the prop category consisted of turtles, dentists, cleaners, hoops, jack-in-the-box's and Clayton Ridge's very own Frozen inspired wings.

The Prop category focuses on the emphasis of the prop, how one moves and dances with obstacles. It highlights the effectiveness of every move. With that also comes technique, choreography, skill level, costuming, showmanship and precision. The team faced many challenging routines, among them Grundy Center with a crowd pleasing 1980s themed cleaning routine that took second. Three other routines were placed in the fifth to third range, leaving Clayton Ridge on top as the highest scoring Prop of the day and coming away with the first-place trophy.

Small School Military is one of the most visually impressive and physically draining divisions of the day. The routines are judged on choreography, musicality, precision, costuming, technique and, overall the most important, execution. A Military is a synchronized form of movements, meant to be fast, powerful and done with extreme intensity. The Clayton Ridge Drill Team had not won a first-place trophy in Military in more than eight years, giving the team the drive to push for perfection.

'Standing up in the front of Wells Fargo, waiting to get called is a terrifying thing. Not because there is 10,000 people watching you, but because you want it so badly, you just hope you were good enough.” a Clayton Ridge senior said.

Many teams were called up for District 1 recognition, which is receiving at least a 60/70 on the scoresheet, beating the required amount of points, to place.

Williamsburg came in third place with a large competition team. Grundy Center came in second with eye-catching silver-gloved hand movements. Clayton Ridge came in first with an impressive score for its 'Paint It Black” themed routine, the first team in school history to win the Military and Prop competition in the same year.

As awards came to a close at the end of the night, three final honors were handed out. These awards are seen as the most prestigious of the entire competition. They are judged selected routines, not always the top scoring, but the most entertaining and the ones they loved the most. Only three routines receive the award, out of 336 performed that day. There is a .0089 chance at receiving it. The first one awarded that night was to a Hip-Hop, the second went to class five Pom.

Finally, Kathy Enyart, ISDTA event coordinator of the competition, announced a third. A routine from Small School Prop. As she spoke, every girl from Clayton Ridge turned to one another. The parents who had been standing up to leave and get a spot for pictures, promptly sat back down. And for the first time in Clayton Ridge history, the Clayton Ridge Drill Team was awarded a Judges Choice Award. A trifecta for the three captains, as the parents had begun to call it.

Watching the girls dance was a fantastic site, but watching them run into the arms of their family and friends with three trophies in their hands was better. The girls later sat and listened to their critique tapes and hear the judges talk about how they worked together as a unit. Some girls turned and looked at each other, smiling. Some sprouted tears in their eyes, proud of the team and family they had become.

Clayton Ridge gave the judges exactly what they wanted in both categories.

'To be the first team in Clayton Ridge history to receive the Judges Choice, and to receive first place trophies in both Military and Prop in the same year is something that nobody who attended will ever forget,” a mother of the one of the team members said.

Twenty years from now the team might not remember performing, they may not remember winning trophies and the fear that came along with performing. But they will remember the friendships they built and they will remember their family.

Coach of the CRDT: Julie Rastetter

Assistant Coach of the CRDT: Sharon Keehner

Captains of the CRDT: Hailey Peterson and Kelly Hawkins

Co-Captain of the CRDT: Noelle Hines

Choreographers of the CRDT: Noelle Hines, Hailey Peterson, Kelsey Rastetter

Other Members of the CRDT:

Juniors: Calista Harbaugh, Nicole Wahls, Taylar Weidner

Sophomores: Nicole Schaefers, Taylor Palmer, Natalie Domeyer, Ivy Alwes

Freshmen: Abrianna Moore, Kaitlyn Kuehl-Berns, Chianne Beherend, Brianna Miller, Audi Zapf, Ashley Hawkins