4 on the floor... again!

Twelve years after the Carrington Cardinaires made history at the North Dakota Association of Dance and Drill (NDADD) state championship by winning an unprecedented four-event sweep, they did it again.

The 2024 version of what has become Class B's premier dance troupe equaled the exploits of the 2012 team by winning the high kick, hip hop, pom and jazz categories at this year's competition, held at the Minot State University Dome January 26-27.

It was the third time overall that the Cardinaires have swept all eligible categories. Aside from the aforementioned years, the team also won a three-event victory in 2006 two years before hip hop debuted in the NDADD program.

Co-Head Coaches Tressa VanRay and Lindsy Pavelko once again helmed the team this season, and VanRay could tell this year's team was up to the task of taking on the "four on the floor" feat.

"This group really had the mindset of becoming better and stronger as a team," said VanRay. "Although we've been smaller than we've been in past years, they did not let that stop them from achieving their goals."

The Cardinaires began their time in Minot with a bit of a change in plans, starting with the jazz event.

Just before the competition started, the team learned that one of the Class B schools entered into the event cancelled out of the category.

Because four teams were originally slated to take the floor, and the scratch took it down to three, that eliminated the possibility of the finals round being held. So, the Cardinaires had one shot to make it count, and the team executed flawlessly.

Later that day, the team took the floor for hip hop, a category the Cardinaires hadn't entered since 2018. Coming in, it was probably the team's weakest event, according to VanRay, and the group was coming off a third place finish in the event in a competition at Jamestown the previous week.

But again, the team fixed whatever glitches were present in their previous outings, and brought home the goods.

"The girls were still a little hesitant this summer, but we told them to just go for it and make a hip hop routine on their own," VanRay said. "I think that helped them a lot because they felt ownership over the routine, and worked hard to make something they were proud to show off."

On Saturday, the Cardinaires came in bright and early for the high kick round. Since Hazen was the only other Class B school entered in the event, no finals round was held in the division.

The team has essentially built a reputation as Class B's "keeper of the flame" in high kick, which debuted at the state competition in 1992. In it, at least half the team has to execute at least 48 synchronized kicks at or above a 90 degree angle from the floor at one time, with little to no margin for variance in leg height.

VanRay maintains the philosophy, as she has since her tenure began, that Cardinaire routines incorporate at least 60 kicks so that they constantly hit the minimum standard.

The championship in the event was the seventh straight for the Cardinaires dating back to 2017. In 2018, they were the only team in the event, so they were not eligible for a trophy that year.

The final event of the NDADD competition was pom, a category in which the Cardinaires were gunning for their fourth consecutive championship.

Unlike the other three events, where the team was among the first seven squads to perform, their pom routine was scheduled towards the end of the program.

In the finals, the coach said her team brought the energy needed to make a lasting impression at the judges' table, and it all added up to a historic weekend.

"One thing we try to instill in our team is the pride of carrying on a tradition of dance in both our school and the NDADD community," said VanRay. "Our goal is never to 'win'; our goal is always to leave the floor feeling like we did the best that we possibly could.

"After that, it's up to the judges."

For pom, Northern Cass finished as runners-up to the Cardinaires, and Central McLean (Underwood/Turtle Lake-Mercer/McClusky) took third.

Hip hop placers were Hazen in second, and Barnes County North, a strong contender for the category in the past half decade, rounded out the top three.

Class A winners were Williston for hip hop, Minot for pom, and West Fargo once again won high kick. In the jazz category this year, Class A was split into large varsity and small varsity categories, and top honors went to Williston (large) and Bismarck Century (small).

In other major awards, senior Sydney Friedt was named as Class B's NDADD scholarship winner. She is the third Cardinaire to earn the honor, joining Miranda Peterson (2012) and Bailey Schumann (2014) as recipients.

The championships the Cardinaires earned marked the 40th, 41st, 42nd and 43rd category titles historically, by far the most of any Class B program.

By the numbers, the team has 21 titles in high kick, 10 in jazz/dance, six in pom and four in hip hop. Two more wins came in the novelty/prop category, which is somewhat of an "anything goes" event that is infrequently contested and is not recognized on the Cardinaires' state banners.

Team members are seniors Sydney Friedt and Tessa Mittleider, juniors Sierra Friedt, Tesslin Lura and Reagan Wolsky, sophomore Arianna Alinder, eighth grader Macy Fiebiger, and seventh grader Kyah Lura.

VanRay praised the contributions of the elder Friedt and Mittleider as they leave the program to graduation, but have done immense contributions to maintaining the Cardinaires' tradition of excellence on the floor.

"Sydney and Tessa have been showing their leadership skills the last couple years, but man, this year they really stepped into their roles as team captains so effortlessly," she said. "These girls have put six years into this team, and it showed."

VanRay and Pavelko are grateful for the level of support from the Carrington community and school, and recognition of the hard work and dedication that the Cardinaires put in every season.