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Hawkettes at state

Hawkettes Place Fourth in Jazz, Kick at MSHSL Dance Team Tournament

By Molly Carlson (photos by Mark Hoernemann), 02/22/22, 10:45AM CST

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The Mound Westonka Hawkettes dance team had one of its strongest showings ever at the Minnesota State High School League Dance Team Tournament, held February 18 and 19 at Target Center.

jazz team
kick team

The Mound Westonka Hawkettes dance team had one of its strongest showings ever at the Minnesota State High School League Dance Team Tournament, held February 18 and 19 at Target Center. The Hawkettes were coming off of the Section 3AA Championship, in which they qualified as section champions in kick and section runners-up in jazz.

On Friday in the jazz competition, the Hawkettes had a very strong performance in the preliminary round. “The team gave a beautiful performance," said coach Molly Carlson. "We were so proud of the confidence and heart they showed out on the floor, along with strong technical skill."

After prelims, the coaches knew their team had a chance to qualify for the finals; but at the state tournament, with so much talent in the arena, nothing is ever a given. When finalists were announced, the team was ecstatic to hear their name. Also qualifying for finals were fellow Section 3AA qualifiers, Orono and Holy Family. Benilde-St. Margaret’s, Totino-Grace and Sauk Rapids-Rice rounded out the final six.

The team proudly represented Mound Westonka High School in the state jazz finals on Friday evening. “The performance they gave in finals was one we will remember as coaches forever,” said coach Emily Gibson. “We have never seen them have so much precision, combined with so much passion.” 

The Hawkettes ended up fourth place in state, tying with their best finish ever in jazz. Benilde-St. Margaret’s placed first, with Orono coming in second and Totino Grace third.

At the jazz awards ceremony, two Hawkettes were named to the Wells Fargo All-Tournament Team. Seniors Hallie Dierbeck and Lauren Hildahl were announced for this honor, along with two members from each of the other jazz finalist teams.

The next day, the Hawkettes performed in the kick competition, performing their “Rhythm Nation” themed dance. They knew the competition would be extremely tough, but they also knew they had a good chance to do well. The Hawkettes placed in the top six last year, finishing in fourth place, but there was no final round of competition during the 2020-21 season due to Covid restrictions. Having never had the opportunity to compete in the final round of competition for kick, the team had high hopes that this would be their year. 

The team reacted with pure joy when their name was announced as the first team who would compete in the final round of the kick competition that evening. “There was truly nothing like the feeling of hearing our name called for kick finals - it was something we have dreamed about for years, ever since we first qualified for state in kick in 2010,” said coach Margot Spanjers. “It was absolutely a dream come true.”

Saturday evening’s kick performance was perhaps the team’s highlight of the entire tournament. “Their kick performance was absolutely perfect on Saturday in finals. Every move was done with precision, and they have never been more entertaining to watch,” said coach Carlson. The Hawkettes placed fourth in an extremely close-scoring field of competition. Austin placed first, with Benilde-St. Margaret’s placing second and Totino-Grace coming in third.

Two members of the Hawkettes were named to the Wells Fargo All Tournament Team in kick - seniors Ellerie Anderson and Juliet O’Flanagan.

The Hawkettes were also honored at the state tournament with the Team Academic Award, given to teams who have a combined GPA of 3.3 or higher. Seniors Hallie Dierbeck, Lauren Hildahl, Clara Hughes and Juliet O’Flanagan were named to the elite Academic All-State Dance Team, an honor given to dancers who qualify for the state tournament as athletes, and who also have a cumulative GPA of 3.85 or higher.

Also receiving state-level recognition are four athletes who were selected to be a part of the Minnesota Association of Dance Team’s All-State Dance Team. Seniors Hallie Dierbeck and Lauren Hildahl were named to the All-State Jazz Team, and seniors Ellerie Anderson and Juliet O’Flanagan to the All-State Kick Team. They will represent MWHS at the All-State dance performance held at Two Rivers High School on March 5.

The Hawkettes are excited to host their annual Junior Hawkettes Dance Camp February 28-March 3. Dancers can register through Westonka Community Education (westonkace.org) by February 27.