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OREM — The Vykelles were challenged, but never down for the count.
After Spanish Fork won the first two categories at the 5A state drill meet Saturday at the UCCU Center, Viewmont came back with a bang to take first in show to come away with the Vykelles' second consecutive state championship on the campus of Utah Valley University.
"This group of girls is the most resilient, hard-working group of girls," Viewmont coach Bailee Hadlock said. "Coming off of a year like last year, there was a lot of expectation and a lot of eyes on us. It got to us a few times; we didn't have the season start as we thought we would.
"But at the end of the day, they knew what they needed to do and came in at a perfect peak to come in and do what they needed to do. I'm so proud of them."
Spanish Fork finished second, followed by Bountiful, Maple Mountain and Hillcrest.
Spanish Fork opened the 5A finals strong, when the Region 9 contenders knocked out a near-perfect military round and dance routine that ended up winning both categories.
But the Vykelles were close, finishing second in military and third in dance, and a unique take on the Disney villain Jafar put Viewmont over the top with a stunning victory in show.
"Our show routine is so unique; it's an original idea that's never been done before, and our girls just really embodied that character," Hadlock said. "We studied Jafar, and tried to bring him to life the best they could. I think they just really left it all on the floor; that's when they knew they need to bring it home, and that's exactly what they did."
Minerettes tie program record with fourth-straight 6A title
There isn't much that Bingham High's drill team hasn't accomplished since the UHSAA first sanctioned the state competition in 1983.
But the Minerettes still tied a program record Saturday night.
Bingham won the dance and show categories, and finished second in military, to breeze to its fourth consecutive 6A drill title at the UCCU Center in Orem.
It's the second time in program history that the Minerettes have won four consecutive titles, matching a program record set from 2004-07. The win marks Bingham's 11th state title, tied for the fourth-most in UHSAA history with Panguitch.
Farmington finished second after winning the military category. The Nixelles finished second in both dance and show. Layton, Davis and Pleasant Grove rounded out the top five.
4-peat! Dixie's Jetettes cruise to fourth consecutive 4A title
Dixie High's drill team knew exactly why they were coming back to the UCCU Center on Friday morning, and the three-time defending state champions were motivated.
The Jetettes cruised to category titles in military and show to collect their fourth-straight 4A state title on the campus of Utah Valley University, ensuring that the long bus ride back to St. George would be a happy one.
"We had 18 seniors, and everybody wanted it really bad," said Dixie coach Laurel Peterson, who won her sixth state title — all since 2016. "They all worked together with my great coaching staff, and they were all just so determined."
Among that monster senior class, Peterson pointed toward her three captains of four-year dancers — seniors Julia Wilkinson, Chloe Cox and Makinlee Ray — for guiding an exceptional run.
"Those three are captains and were phenomenal leaders," Peterson added. "They were exceptional."
The Jetettes were fueled by a home-heavy crowd that combined what felt like most of the city of St. George, with parents, students and fans from Dixie, Desert Hills, Snow Canyon and Crimson Cliffs making up the bulk of the 5,000-seat arena in Utah County.
With the crowd on their side, Dixie opened the nine-team state final with a powerful military number, finished second in the dance category, and celebrated with a Chinese cultural tribute in the show category that featured a pair of flying dragons and acrobatics.
Desert Hills finished second overall, followed by Sky View. Ridgeline used a first-place finish in dance to take fourth as a team, with Snow Canyon rounding out the top five.
Repeat twice as nice for Talons in 3A
For Canyon View's Talons, repeating was definitely harder than the first.
Which made Friday afternoon's 3A state drill title all the more thrilling.
The Talons swept all three categories of military, dance and show to win their second-straight 3A state drill and dance championship Friday in Orem.
"The first time wasn't easy, but the second time was harder," Canyon View coach Nicole Mikkelson said. "I feel like they felt more pressure, putting a lot of pressure on themselves and even other people putting pressure on them. To motivate themselves, control that pressure and put it in their own hands was a big accomplishment."
By the time the Talons were raising the trophy and all three discipline banners, there was little drama left from the huge swatch of the Cedar City community that accompanied the team to the state competition.
Really, Canyon View had been waiting for the moment all year, said senior military captain McKinlee Urie, show captain Cali Hinton and dance captain Regan Miller. Maybe even before the marathon week of the state competition that culminated in the Talons' third drill championship in school history — all since 2011.
"Our freshmen year, we came from the bottom and never even made it to the second day of state," Urie recalled. "The next year, we barely made it to the next day of state. It was a really big goal for us last year to get the job done. We believed that we could.
"But then I think this year was remembering that feeling and what it took to get there. We wanted so badly to feel it again. We did whatever it took, and made a goal to sweep state. And we did."
South Sevier back on top in 2A
One of the top programs in Utah high school drill and dance is back on top after a one-year hiatus.
South Sevier won military and dance, and finished second in show, to vault the Sensations to their first state title since winning their eighth-straight in 2021.
It's the 13th state drill title in school history for South Sevier, which vaulted between 2A and 3A during its recent run of eight consecutive titles that ranks as the third-longest streak in state history. Only Bountiful (21) and Duchesne (15) have more overall championships.
Last year's champion Kanab finished second after winning the show discipline, followed by Duchesne, Gunnison Valley and North Summit.
