WIAA Winter Championships conclude with State Dance and Drill

3/24/2024

(Yakima, WA) The WIAA Winter Championships for 2023-24 have come to an end after this past weekend’s Dance and Drill Championships at the Yakima SunDome. 4A competed on Friday with 65 performances from 28 teams. The 3A/2A/1A competed on Saturday with 48 teams and 86 performances.

Below are the results and video highlights of each closing ceremonies and some of the Championship performances beginning with the 4A competition from Friday and Saturday’s 3A/2A/1A events. Teams competed in up to 3 of the 6 categories that included Dance, Pom, Hip Hop, Kick, Military and Show. Trophies were awarded based on the number of teams that competed in the event for instance a category with 17 teams had the top 5 winning trophies while a category of 5 had 2 award winners.

*Note a reminder there were no State Dance and Drill Championships in 2020 or 2021 due to the Covid outbreak.

4A State Dance and Drill

Drill Down Winner: Ashley Han Sophomore (Newport)
Coach of the Year: Lynelle Vandenbos (South Kitsap)
Administrator of the Year: Garrett Wade (Mount Rainier)
Academic Champions: Newport (Bellevue)

4A Closing Ceremonies, Drill Down, Parade of Teams and Awards

Dance

Kentridge had dominated this event from 2011 thru 2018 winning 6 of the 8 Dance Championships including a run of 4 in a row from 2015-2018. The Chargers have been absent for the past 4 competitions. Skyline emerged as the new Dance power coming in with back-to-back-to-back title although they tied with Issaquah in 2022 were shooting for their 4th big trophy in a row. Kentridge was ready to re-claim that title and added another Dance Championship to their trophy case beating out the Spartans of Skyline who took 2nd.

Final Results
Champion Kentridge
2nd Place Skyline
3rd Place South Kitsap
4th Place Issaquah

Kentridge’s Championship Performance

Pom

Pasco came to play this year and expanded outside of their 4 straight Hip Hop titles and back-to-back Show performances by blowing away the fans and their Pom routine. The Bulldogs high energy and in your face performance that came just prior to the 40-minute dinner break left those still in their seats standing up cheering wildly. This was Pasco’s 1st Pom Championship as they were on their way to a sweep of the 3 events they were entered. Kentridge continued their strong day with the 2nd place trophy.

Coming into this year it had been a 2 horse race with Moses Lake or Eastlake winning all of the Pom titles from 2011 until last year or 11 years in a row. Moses Lake was coming in off back-to-back Championships wiuth Eastlake last winning in 2019. Moses Lake fell short of the awards this year and Eastlake ended up 3rd with a solid routine. Skyline and Kamiak finished off the top 5 trophy winners.

Final Results
Champion Pasco
2nd Place Kentridge
3rd Place Eastlake
4th Place Skyline
5th Place Kamiak

Pasco’s Championship Performance

Hip Hop

Pasco won their 2nd of 3 Championships with their 5th straight Hip Hop Championship. The Bulldogs didn’t disappoint their fans with another in your face performance full of energy and fun. South Kitsap was seeking their 1st ever State Championship and came into the competition with the highest qualifying score. The Wolves put on a great performance but just fell short to Pasco and took home 2nd place. Union also looking for their 1st ever Hip Hop title had a strong showing finishing 3rd with Eastlake grabbibg 4th and Mt Rainier taking 5th.

Final Results
Champion Pasco
2nd South Kitsap
3rd Union
4th Eastlake
5th Mt Rainier

Pasco’s Championship Performance

Kick

Kentridge had won 3 of the last 4 Kick Titles at State Dance and Drill and were ready to continue their recent domination. The Chargers were well in sync and nailed their routine to win their 2nd Championship of the competition. This was Kentridge’s 6th top performance in Kick. Kamiak also has history in this event winning it in 2017 and 2011. The Knights were also flawless but fell just short to take the 2nd place trophy.

Final Results
Champion Kentridge
2nd Kamiak

Kentridge’s Championship Performance

Military

Moses Lake could not 3-peat in Pom but weren’t about to let go of the iron grip they have on the Military category winning their 4th straight Title and 10th Championship overall. Their precision and focus were too much for the rest of the competition. Newport of Bellevue has 1 State Championship in their history and it was in this category but back in 2008 as a 3A school. The Knights made a strong showing and came away with the 2nd place trophy.

Final Results
Champion Moses Lake
2nd Place Newport (Bellevue)

Moses Lake’s Championship Performance

Show

There were only 2 competitors in the difficult Show caregory which in essence is a mini-play with sets and an extraordinary amount of support help. Pasco has dominated the past 2 years and did not disappoint with a Pasco Bulldog Car Sales themed performance. The sets were so well done and the performance tight and the Bulldogs swept all 3 events they particpated in for 3 State Titles and won their 3rd straight Show category. Richland was the only other team and actually were the original 1st two Champions in this event back in 2001 and 2002. The Bombers gvave a great performance and look like they will need to be dealt with in the near future.

Final Results
Champion Pasco

Pasco’s Championship Performance

3A/2A/1A State Dance and Drill

The 3A/2A/1A competitions were combined in some and separated to 3A and 2A/1A in other events depending on the number of teams that qualified for each event.

Drill Down Winner: Bella Liang (Mercer Island)
Coach of the Year: Cassie Maher (Ferris)
3A Academic Champions: Interlake
2A Academic Champions: White River
1A Academic Champions: Royal

3A/2A/1A Dance

The last 3 champions all finished 1-2-3 in this event. Last year 3A was separated from 2A/1A with Capital winning it and Tumwater taking the 2A/1A event. Hermiston wpon the combined 3A/2A event in 2022. So who would rise to the top? Hermiston won it for their 2nd Dance Championship. Tumwater edged out Capital for 2nd and Cougars settled for 3rd. Meadowdale who dominated early in the history of this event winning the first 4 years from 2001-2004 made a sole run this year as well taking 4th place.

Final Results
Champion Hermiston
2nd Place Tumwater
3rd Place Capital
4th Place Meadowdale

Hermiston’s Championship Performance

3A Pom

Capital has dominated the 3A Pom category with 3 straight win and made it 4 in a row this year. The Cougars attack on the Pom category was brilliant and held off a determined Gig Harbor squad who made a serious run at de-throning the Champions. This was the Cougars 6th State Pom Championship while the Tides were seeking their 1st. Hazen had serious history in this category as well with 4 State Titles and made a big effort as well coming in 3rd place.

Final Results
Champion Capital
2nd Place Gig Harbor
3rd Place Hazen

Capital’s Championship Performance

2A/1A Pom

From 2009 to 2018 Tumwater talled 9 State Pom Chmpionships with Capital being the only speed bump when the Cougs were 2A in 2014. After Covid Selah took back-to-back titles but the T-Birds returned the Winners Circle last year and won it again this past weekend. Tumwater now has 50% of all the State 2A Pom Championships, 11 of 22. Woodland surprised many as they were looking for their 1st ever Dance and Drill State Championship taking 2nd place. Othello had a strong showing winning their 2nd trophy of the weekend taking 3rd.

Final Results
Champion Tumwater
2nd Place Woodland
3rd Place Othello

Tumwater’s Championship Performance

3A Hip Hop

The Tides of Gig Harbor have 1 team Championship in Dance in Drill coming into the weekend and it was in this category 2 years ago only to see Hermiston take it last year. These two teams would battle it out again this year and it was the Tides pulling out the win following a stunning performance. The Bulldogs nearly defended their title but had to settle for 2nd place. This kept Hermiston from sweeping their 3 categories. Ridgeline stepped up with a big performance to take 3rd, Mead was 4th and Lakes who won Hip Hop in 2019 and 2012 went home with the 5th place trophy.

Final Results
Champion Gig Harbor
2nd Hermiston
3rd Ridgeline
4th Mead
5th Lakes

Gig Harbor’s Championship Performance

2A/1A Hip Hop

The Othello Huskies burst onto the Hip Hop scene in 2022 winning it all and then defending their title last year to come into the competition as the one to beat. This had been the strongest run for Othello since winning the category bck in 2006. The Tumwater T-Birds came into this year’s competition with more Championships overall than any other school in any classification with 30 Championships. The T-Birds had already added #31 winning the Pom event and added #32 by knocking off the 2-time defending Champs to win their 10th Hip Hop Title. The Huskies didn’t go quietly as they took 2nd and Selah finished 3rd.

Final Results
Champion Tumwater
2nd Othello
3rd Selah

Tumwater’s Championship Performance

3A/2A/1A Kick

Bonney Lake was a double winner last year but they have dominated the Kick category for the last 3 competitions and added number 4 in a row on Saturday. The Panthers performance was tight and precise impre3ssing the judges to take the top prize. Mercer Island had a large contingent of fans and they scored 2nd place in the Kick category. The Islanders were looking to win their 1st Dance and Drill Championship and got as close as they could with with the runner-up finish.

Final Results
Champion Bonney Lake
2nd Mercer Island

Bonney Lake’s Championship Performance

3A Military

Hazen came into the Dance and Drill Championships with 8 Titles in their trophy case with 3 of those in the Military event. #9 was added this past weekend and their 4th overall title in Military with an impressive drill routine. This was Mercer Island’s 2nd shot at winning their 1st ever Dance and Drill Championship but again just fell short. Liberty of Issaquah was also in the running and took home 3rd place with a solid routine that got the notice of the judges.

Final Results
Champion Hazen
2nd Place Mercer Island
3rd Place Liberty (Issaquah)

Hazen’s Championship Performance

2A/1A Military

The Royal Knights have focused on the Military category and have now become the team to beat winning their 3rd straight Championship with another flawless performance overwhelming the competition. Royal was also the 86th squad to perform on Saturday and 151st over the 2 days to wrap up the event and did it with a State Championship performance. The Shelton Highclimbers were shooting for their 1st ever Title but could not overcome the defending Champs to take the 2nd place trophy.

Final Results
Champion Royal
2nd Place Shelton

Royal’s Championship Performance

3A Show

3 teams battled for the lone trophy in the 3A show category and came in as the heavy favorites with 3 straight wins. Bonney Lake had won back-to-back the 2 prior years to Hermiston’s current run but the Panthers could not overcome the “Show Machine” mthat Hermiston brings to town. Shorewood also competed and all 3 had memorable performances but once again Hermiston stood out to give them their 2nd Title of the weekend.

Final Results
Champion Hermiston

**We apologize but the video of the Hermiston Show performance was not viewable due to a technical issue.