4A state drill: Ridgeline claims 1st title with perfect sweep

OREM — Nothing beat Ridgeline's first 4A drill title in program history, but that feeling could wait for one moment.

While their dancers jumped, shouted and posed for photos with a first-of-its-kind (in Millville) championship trophy, Ridgeline coach Karlee Tansock and her assistant coaches gathered over a phone to watch a heartwarming video.

It showed the moment the Aeriettes swept all three categories of military, dance and show — and the warm reception of all nine finalists swarming them at midcourt at the UCCU Center at Utah Valley University in celebration.

"I feel like the state competition, there was a really positive environment in the tunnel," assistant coach Sydney Outsen said. "Everyone in 4A came together today to cheer each other one, and we haven't felt that a lot. It was special."

Ridgeline's first title was years in the making, but also a process. The Aeriettes finished third two years ago and second last year, falling behind everyone but two-time 4A champion Hillcrest in the end.

They celebrated that moment — but also got to work. With HD moving up to 5A on the most current Utah High School Activities Association realignment cycle, the program founded in 2016 knew it had an opening.

Even if the universe felt like it was, at times, conspiring against them all the way through winning their eighth straight region title.

"They've had a lot of injuries and factors thrown their way that tried to take them out," Tansock said.

"There were setbacks that we had to overcome every competition, really," Outsen added, using words like resilience, grit and passion to describe the group.

Ridgeline held off Snow Canyon and third-place Crimson Cliffs for the win, with Bear River and Desert Hills also finishing inside the top five. Dixie, Sky View, Stansbury and Cedar were also among the nine finalists — a group that has included Ridgeline before, if never on the top spot.

Until Friday.

"We have fought for this title for a while," Tansock said. "We feel like it's been a long fight, not just last year but we feel like we've been working for it for several years. For us to get it and achieve it is really big."