‘Super great’ Dixie High School Jetettes win Region 9 drill competition

ST. GEORGE — The Region 9 4A drill team competition took place Wednesday night at the Dixie State University Burns Arena. Six teams from across the region faced off in an epic dance battle that saw the teams competing in three categories – military, dance and character.

The Dixie High School Jetettes perform their character routine during the Region 9 drill team competition held at the DSU Burns Arena, St. George, Utah, Jan. 15, 2020 | Photo by Dave Larson, St. George News

It was an intense competition that was ultimately won by the Dixie High School Jetettes who took first in the military and dance categories and third in the character category.

It was a narrow win for Dixie as the Desert Hills High School Tempest Line was kicking at their heels, placing second in military and dance, and first in character.

After the competition had ended, the two teams had the exact same cumulative points; however, the Utah High School Activities Association, which governs the rules and regulations for high school competition in Utah, does not allow for a tie in region or state competition, Lauralyn Kofford said.

Kofford is the Region 9 competition director.

As part of a larger panel of nine judges, five routine judges determine a score for each category based on a number of criteria including choreography, execution and performance. All five scores are totaled and the high and the low score are thrown out.

The Cedar High Mohey Tawa perform their character routine during the Region 9 drill team competition, St. George, Utah, Jan. 15, 2020 | Photo by Dave Larson, St. George News

In order to break the tie between Desert Hills and Dixie, the high and low scores were brought back in and Dixie came out on top, Kofford said.

Other judging criteria is based on whether the team executes their routines safely and in accordance with the governing rules and regulations for each category. Teams can be penalized for unsafe movements, among other things.

The Utah High School Activities Association has moved all high school competition to a rating percentage index format, said Marcee Christensen, who is the head coach for Desert Hills High School’s Tempest Line. So while the competition acted as a region championship, it also served as a qualifying event for the state competition.

For all six of the Region 9 teams – Canyon View, Cedar, Crimson Cliffs, Desert Hills, Dixie and Snow Canyon –Wednesday’s competition was the fourth of four qualifying events that rank the teams as they head into state competition.

The top 12 teams will head straight to the semifinals while the others will have to additionally qualify for state competition at the quarterfinals, Christensen said.

The Snow Canyon High School Eshelles perform their character routine during the Region 9 drill team competition held at the DSU Burns Arena, St. George, Utah, Jan. 15, 2020 | Photo by Dave Larson, St. George News

Final rankings on the rating percentage index will be released Jan. 23 and state quarterfinals will take place Jan. 24 at Utah Valley University. Semifinal and final competition for 4A schools will take place Jan. 30-31 also at UVU.

While Wednesday’s competition was a good night for some, the Snow Canyon Eshelles, who were ranked just slightly above Desert Hills over the first three qualifying competitions, were plagued by penalties in two of their three dance categories.

Assistant coach Lainee Frei said they hadn’t had penalties like that in any of their other competitions. Still, she said, the girls deserve recognition for all their hard work over the season.

But the night belonged to Dixie High School, who not only took the region championship but swept the top three in the drill down competition – a military-style competition that has the girls following drill commands in an elaborate game of Simon says.

As the last three girls were standing, all Dixie High School Jetettes, chants of “super great, Jetettes,” filled the arena.

Amidst the cacophony and thrill of the win, Jetettes head coach Laurel Peterson took a moment to praise her assistant coaches, the parents and the girls for their consistent effort.

“It feels awesome,” Peterson said of their win. “The girls worked so hard and I am so excited for them.”

Military category results:

  1. Dixie High School Jetettes.
  2. Desert Hills High School Tempest Line.
  3. Canyon View High School Talons.
  4. Snow Canyon High School Eshelles.
  5. Cedar High School Mohey Tawa.
  6. Crimson Cliffs High School Crimson Drill.*

*Places were read five-deep.

Dance category results:

  1. Dixie High School Jetettes.
  2. Desert Hills High School Tempest Line.
  3. Canyon View High School Talons.
  4. Cedar High School Mohey Tawa.
  5. Snow Canyon High School Eshelles.
  6. Crimson Cliffs High School Crimson Drill.*

*Places were read five-deep.

Character category results:

  1. Desert Hills High School Tempest Line.
  2. Canyon View High School Talons.
  3. Dixie High School Jetettes.
  4. Snow Canyon High School Eshelles.
  5. Cedar High School Mohey Tawa.
  6. Crimson Cliffs High School Crimson Drill.*

*Places were read five-deep.

The 2A region drill team competition, which will include Beaver, Enterprise, Kanab, Millard, Panguitch and Parowan high schools, will take place Saturday in Kanab.

More information about the Utah High School Activities Association drill team schedules, scoring and ranking can be found here.

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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2020, all rights reserved.

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