Geneva Varsity Dance Team Wins IHSA State Championship

Posted February 02, 2014 10:00 pm

Ellen Schmid

The Geneva High School varsity dance team finished in first place with a score of 92.38 after competing in the IHSA Class 2A state finals at U.S. Cellular Coliseum in Bloomington this past weekend. Geneva High School Athletic Director Jim Kafer said "I can't say enough superlatives about the dance team's performance this year. They finished in the top two of every competition they entered and in some cases had two routines finish in the top two or three. They swept the end of the year competitions, winning the Upstate 8 conference, the IHSA sectionals and finally the 2A IHSA state championship. From a school's standpoint, with the IHSA sanctioning, we are pleased that dance will now get the recognition as a competitive sport that it deserves. The girls and Coach Amy VanWagenen deserve all of the credit that comes their way.”

Coach Amy VanWagenen commented of her team's win: "Hearing our name being called in first place was the most rewarding experience I can imagine. The 2A dance division competes at a very high level with very many talented teams in our division. We were thrilled to even qualify for state by being in the top 30 teams out of 75. Once we made it to state, our hearts were set on being in the top 10 and qualifying for finals and once we did that, the girls and I could not be happier."

Coach VanWagenen continued, "Competing on Saturday was just fun. Of course there were nerves and the girls wanted to win, but knowing what they had already accomplished made the performance on Saturday all that more enjoyable. My advice to them on Saturday was to enjoy this experience and to soak it all in because it was our last time competing all together. They gave their performance their all on Saturday and it obviously paid off. We are excited and honored to bring the dance division 2A 1st place trophy to Geneva High School. This season has been one to remember!"

The Geneva Varsity Dance team will perform their final time this season at the Boys' Varsity Basketball game on February 27 during halftime.

Article Comments

Article Categories
Communities Geneva Submitted Content

Article Comments

Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.