Lake Oswego dancers shine at DDCA state

Lakers win Class 6A Hip Hop and Jazz categories; Lakeridge grabs fourth and sixth.

The Lakers brought it.

The Lake Oswego dance team — competing in the 2023 Dance Drill State Championships at Gresham High School on Saturday, Jan. 21 — brought it big-time.

In their two performances, the Lakers broke through to win in both Class 6A Jazz and 6A Hip Hop, earning Superior ratings in both categories.

“They were electric — twice,” said Lake Oswego coach Hayley Dulong. “I was so insanely proud of both of their performances. We left the floor screaming and smiling.”

The complete team scoring for the Class 6A Jazz division included: Jazz Lake Oswego 86.79 Superior; Jazz Tigard 80.21 Outstanding; Jazz Tualatin 79.50 Outstanding; Jazz Westview 76.08 Outstanding; Jazz Mountainside 74.50 Excellent; Jazz Nelson 73.17 Excellent; Jazz Gresham 70.33 Excellent.

The complete team scoring for the 6A Hip Hop division included: Lake Oswego 91.92 Superior; Sherwood 90.46 Superior; Westview 83.75 Outstanding; Lakeridge 79.02 Outstanding; Clackamas 74.83 Excellent; Nelson 73.50 Excellent.

The dancers who performed for Lake Oswego were: Sydney Arceneaux, Anslee Bennett, Sheila Chen, Fiona Coleman, Maddi Dale, Kate Davis, Gisele ElAzma, Jane Grimm, Makena Hammond, Addie Heyer, Emily Holstein, Summer James, Emilie Kilshaw, London Kniss, Riley Matthews, Elise Olsen, Kate Riehl, Emerson Smith, Georgia Truax, Lauren Vance, Chloe Whittington, Ellie Wise, Jordan Woolf, Josee Zagacki, Payton Zagacki and Natalie Zenner.

“(The best part was) being able to execute and peak right on time,” Dulong said. “We always practice to ensure they perform their best when it counts (and) they absolutely did that.”

Lakeridge was solid, too, placing fourth in the 6A Hip Hop division (see above), and also grabbed sixth in the 6A Contemporary division. The complete team scoring for the 6A Contemporary division included: Clackamas 87.67 Superior; Sunset 81.92 Outstanding; Tualatin 79.67 Outstanding; Mountainside 77.96 Outstanding; Lakeridge 77.50 Outstanding; Nelson 73.63 Excellent.