The Sweet Home High School Huskiettes dance team placed second at a four-team Thurston High School competition Saturday.
First place was Grant Union High School of John Day.
That followed a second-place finish at Sheldon High School on Feb. 28. They faced three other teams in each of the competitions.
“They’re doing good,” said Coach Eohe Howerton, who is in her first year coaching the team. “This is like a building year for us.”
The coaching staff is new, and the team has a wide range of experience, from those who never danced on up; and they’re from all walks of life, including three exchange students. Under those conditions, she set the theme as “Come Together …. Family.”
The idea is to build team unity, she said.
“They’re scoring higher than they have in the past couple of years,” Howerton said. “I’m very proud of the girls.”
Howerton added that she wanted to publicly thank Kristin Ashcraft for her contribution to the program and acknowledge her 10 years of dedication to the dance team prior to Howerton becoming coach.
The Huskiettes have a busy upcoming schedule when they host a clinic from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Friday. Cost is $25. Children attending the clinic will perform at 3 p.m.
On Sunday, the Huskiettes will perform at 1 p.m. at South Albany with area high school dance teams, and then at 7 p.m. Monday night, they will host their annual exhibition, with performances by three local dance studios and junior high, alumni and high school dancers.
They will compete at state in the 1A/2A/3A/4A small division on March 20. If they qualify, they will continue on March 21. State will be held at the Memorial Coliseum.