One half of one rank point.
Or one total point.
Either way, it couldn’t have been any closer for the Brainerd Warriors who finished seventh in the Class 3A state jazz tournament Friday, March 12, at Edina High School.
What made things worse was the team that kept Brainerd out of the top six is a team the Warriors beat all year long.
“We didn’t make the top sixth, we were seventh, but boy was it tight,” Brainerd head coach Cindy Clough said. “It was a half a rank point and one total point and Blaine edged us out and we had been ahead of them all year.”
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Brainerd beat Blaine in the Section 4-3A meet, but a two-point swing in visual effectiveness was the deciding factor.
“I thought we looked really good,” Clough said. “We have some things we want to get back at. Like I’ve said before, I feel like we need a larger group. But I thought we did very well.
“It was just different how we are doing it, but we’re making it work,” Clough said. “We just aren’t in there for very long. It’s a little different because I had never been in Edina High School. Normally I feel like I’m in my element, but I have never been in this school.”
Despite not being in her element, Clough hopes having competed once in the Edina Gymnasium will help the Warrior kick team, which competes Saturday, March 13 in the state kick meet.
“I feel like it’s good for the kids,” Clough said. “All the kick kids got to watch jazz and so at least now they have that mental feeling of where they are at. We felt like we controlled nerves really well today, and I think it had something to do with the new format, where you aren’t there very long. It’s kind of a benefit.”
Eastview won the jazz title with 477 points and three rank points. Maple Grove placed second with 471 points and Wayzata was third with 466 points.
Brainerd scored 421 points.
In the Class 1A meet, Crosby-Ironton secured 295 points to place ninth.
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“We’re very, very happy with that,” C-I head coach Rachel Norwood said. “They looked amazing. It was by far our best performance of the season. They were very energetic and very clean. We saw all of our leaps and jumps pushed to their full potential and our turns were nailed. It was a really good last performance.”
Lac qui Parle Valley/Dawson-Boyd took home the top honors with 374 points and three rank points. Yellow Medicine East placed second with 367 points and Holy Family Catholic secured third despite being in a three-way tie with Zumbrota-Mazeppa and Frazee. All three teams had 12 rank points.
“It was a very quick day,” Norwood said of the changed format.
Unlike in years past, teams performed once and then left the building.
“We got there and went to our little warm-up area for probably 10 to 15 minutes and then we went to our bag drop area and then we had a couple of minutes in the chute and then we were on the floor. As soon as we were done, we were ushered into the next little area and then we had to leave the building.”
Clough said it wasn’t a true state experience, but she said they are making the most of the weekend. Norwood said the Crosby-Ironton community helped make it a memorable day.
“This morning we were lucky enough to get to go through the elementary school and we got to wave to all the little kids who were standing outside cheering ‘Go C-I Go’ as we got off the bus,” Norwood said. “We had the fire trucks escorting us around. It was really fun to see the community back us up and see all the support from the little kids, too.”
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Class 3A: 1-Eastview Apple Valley 3 (477 total points), 2-Maple Grove 6 (417), 3-Wayzata 9 (466), 4-Edina 12 (457), 5-Lakeville North 15 (434), 6-Blaine 20.5 (421), 7-Brainerd 21 (420), 8-Lakeville South 21.5 (419), 9-Anoka 28 (388), 10-Centennial 30 (381), 11-Spring Lake Park 31 (375), 12-Mounds View 35 (365)
Class 1A: 1-Lac qui Parle Valley/Dawson-Boyd 3 (374), 2-Yellow Medicine East (367), 3-Holy Family Catholic 12 (340), 4-Zumbrota-Mazeppa 12 (339), 5-Frazee 12 (342), 6-Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton 18 (316), 7-Cannon Falls 21 (310), 8-St. Charles 25 (292), 9-Crosby-Ironton 27 (295), 10-Minnewaska 31 (276), 11-Lake City 32.5 (280), 12-PACT Charter 34.5 (260)
JEREMY MILLSOP may be reached at 218-855-5856 or jeremy.millsop@brainerddispatch.com. Follow on Twitter at www.twitter.com/jeremymillsop.
