The competition was fierce at Saturday’s Section 2A dance championship, and an area school earned its spot at the state meet.
The ACGC dance team placed third in the kick competition to clinch its spot in the state meet with its firefighter-themed routine. The performance earned them their first trip to the state meet in program history.
Kristi Lilleberg, who has been the team’s coach since its inception in 2006, was at a loss for words when the announement was made.
“Complete happiness and disbelief,” Lilleberg said, describing the moment. “Not disbelief ‘cause I knew my team was capable of it, but it was just surreal. Everytime you’re there on the dance floor wating for the results, you want them to say your name, and you hope for it. State just takes it to a whole different level.”
Lilleberg said that she knew this was a year that could see the Falcons go to state but that it was going to be a tough fight.
“We were not expecting it,” she said. “We knew that our scores throughout the season had potential, but there were three teams … that had a strong possiblity of that third place spot just looking at scores (throughout the season).”
Cannon Falls and PACT Charter took the first two spots in the kick in front of ACGC. The Falcons tied for the third spot with Randolph but earned the position via tiebreaker.
The Falcons jazz performance placed sixth out of the section’s 13 teams. The Litchfied dance team also competed in the section on Saturday, placing 11th in the jazz and eighth in the kick standings.
Doors open to the public at 10:50 a.m. Saturday at the Target Center, with the Class A competition beginning at 11:30 a.m. All of the weekend’s performances are live streamed for free on prepsportlight.tv, and a complete rundown of performances is available on MSHSL.com.
The Falcons are due to hit the state competition at approximately 11:51 a.m. when they will be one of 12 Class A teams to hit the floor.
“Obviously it would be amazing to place,” Lilleberg said. “I think all of us are just flying high about the opportunity to be there and to perform on the state floor and be a part of the best dance teams in the area. Whatever happens happens, and I’m just going to tell the girls to go in there and enjoy every moment. Just soak it all in and enjoy it (and) have fun.”
Section 2A Championship (Feb. 9)
Kick - 1. Cannon Falls 4, 2. PACT Charter 8, 3. ACGC 13.5, 4. Randolph 13.5, 5. Goodhue 20, 6. New Ulm Cathedral 22, 7. Richfield 27, 8. Litchfield 32, 9. GFW 36, 10. Brooklyn Center 38, 11. Concordia Academy 41.5, 12. Norwood Young America 46, 13. Spectrum 52
Jazz - 1. Cannon Falls 4, 2. PACT Charter 8, 3. Richfield 12.5, 4. Randolph 16.5, 5. New Ulm Cathedral 21, 6. ACGC 21, 7. Concordia Academy 27, 8. Brooklyn Center 37.5, 9. Goodhue 38, 10. GFW 38, 11. Litchfield 38.5, 12. Norwood Young America 39, 13. Spectrum 52
