The Manti High drill team competed this past weekend at the Excalibur Classic at Murray High School on Saturday, Dec. 11 and finished second overall.
This was an important qualifying competition for the drill team, providing the Templars with an idea of where they stand against others in their section in preparation for the state competition.
The competition was divided into 3A, 4A, 5A and 6A sections, with Manti High School participating in the 3A category. There were four other schools participating in the 3A category: Emery, Grand County, Grantsville and Juan Diego.
The team placed second in Military, third in Dance, third in Show and second in Hip Hop. This placed them at second overall, only behind Juan Diego, a worthy opponent in the eyes of Manti Drill Coach Kaylie Bailey.
“I am so happy that we finished behind Juan Diego,” said Kaylie Bailey, coach. “They are a huge team that just moved down from 4A.”
They also had two soloists compete in the 4A and 3A Lyrical competitions. Savanna Thompson, one of their soloists, placed second during her competition. The second soloist, Sophie Christensen, took fourth place.
All teams will have the opportunity to compete against others in their school section during the regional and state competitions, with the chance of taking state against other schools. Manti Drill will be competing again this Saturday, Dec. 18 at Utah Valley University.
While Manti Drill was competing at the Excalibur Classic, the North Sanpete Drill team was participating in the UVU Drill Competition. They competed against Canyon View, Carbon, Juab, Ogden and Union in the 3A division.
This was their first of three qualifying competitions, with the goal of getting a Rating Percentage Index (RPI) as high as possible. RPI is their overall percentage based on the scores they receive in their competitions.
They placed third overall after participating in Military, Dance and Show competitions. The North Sanpete Drill Coach Kiersten Wheeler has goals for reaching the state competition and plans to “listen to the judges’ comments and suggestions and move forward from there. Only place you can go is up.”
North Sanpete Drill will be competing again soon at Davis High School on Saturday, Dec. 18.
After the two schools participate in three total qualifying competitions, they will be placed in a “pod” with other schools based on their RPI. From there, two teams are chosen from each pod to participate in the state competition.
