Evergreen Park’s competitive dance team shows intensity while finishing sixth in Class 1A in the state dance competition on Saturday in Bloomington. Photo by Jeff Vorva
Intense dance performance nets Evergreen Park sixth place at state finals
By Jeff Vorva
Staff Writer
Actual competitive dancing returned to the state level this year and Evergreen Park’s dancers couldn’t be happier.
The Mustangs are on the rise, and the team enjoyed its highest state finish by placing sixth in Class 1A in the IHSA state meet held Jan. 28-29 at Grossinger Motors Arena in Bloomington.
COVID-19 didn’t eliminate the state competition in 2021, but the postseason was performed virtually. Dance teams filmed a routine and judges scored the performances via video.
It was better than nothing, but it was better to be back performing live for the hundreds of teams across the state.
Evergreen Park was the highest-placing team in the area and the only team to qualify for the top 12.
Mustangs coach Marion Castillo welcomed the return to near normal near the town of Normal.
“It’s amazing to be back,” Castillo said. “It’s amazing for the girls. We only had two who hit the floor [in 2020] and the rest are new, so this was a great experience for them.”
The Mustangs’ sixth-place finish in the state meet was the best in the program’s history. Photo by Jeff Vorva
Evergreen Park opened the opening night’s session posting an 83.24, good for seventh place and easily making the 12-team finals.
Morris was the preliminary-round leader with a 91.60 and won it all the next day with a 91.58. Montini (91.42) and Highland (91.00) also took trophies home.
This is the fourth time the Mustangs have been to the state meet. They finished 30th in 2014, the second year the meet was held.
After missing out on state for a stretch, they were back in 2020 and placed 10th. Last year, they took 21st in the virtual event.
Placing in state three straight years is historic for the Mustangs. It’s no secret how they got there.
“Hard work and dedication,” Castillo said. “They push themselves to their limits.”
Captains of this year’s team are Kristen Smith and Chloe Reed. Other team members are Trinity Jones, Emani Johnson, Jordan Johnson, McKenna Mason, Molly Miller, Jameia Sharp-Brown, Aaliyah Frazier, Zaria Simmons, Asha Lane, Sofia Esquivel, Jacqueline Ordaz, Mikaela Bolden and Rikaya McCoy.
Some state competitors performed to happy music. Some to sad songs. Evergreen Park’s routine, Rise and Fall, was intense and all the dancers wore paint near their right eyes for a unique effect.
“The theme is more of a battle through life,” Castillo said. “Don’t let anything keep you down. When things are not going your way, you rise up. That’s what we teach them.”
Other area schools at state did not make it to the final day.
Nazareth Academy finished 24th in Class 1A with a 73.18 score.
Richards, making its first state appearance, took 22nd in Class 2A with a 78.10.
Lyons Township placed 23rd in Class 3A with an 81.94.
Evergreen Park performs a routine titled Rise and Fall at the state meet. Photo by Jeff Vorva
1 Comment
Local News
Victress Women’s Wellness Center sets goals for 2022
Spread the loveBy Kelly White Empowering women in the new year is Victress, a wellness center for women, in Palos Heights. The center opened in October at 7120 W. 127th St. and welcomed in the new year with a goal-setting seminar open to women in the local community called, Achieve 2022: This year set goals,…
Broadcast news — Palos Heights’ Channel 4 has big 2021
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva The first Palos Heights city council meeting of 2022 featured a few minutes of bragging about Channel 4’s success in 2021. The local cable channel had a record-breaking year and Alderman Jerry McGovern was more than happy to run down the happy totals at Tuesday’s board meeting at City Hall.…
Obituaries for Jan. 20, 2022
Spread the loveTHERESA M. BALDWIN Theresa M. Baldwin (nee Boxlietner), age 76, passed away December 12, 2021. Beloved wife of Richard Baldwin; loving mother of Michael Kresch, Kenneth Kresch, Crystal Nelson and Denise Baldwin; dear grandmother of Samantha Peters, Dennis Nelson, Devorie Nelson, Korin Leeth, Kayla Nelson, Kaylee Nelson, Travis Spagnola, Kyle Kresch, Sydney Kresch,…
Experienced bakers buy The Great American Bagel in Palos Heights
Spread the loveNew owners nearly double the menu for breakfast, lunch By Cosmo Hadac When The Great American Bagel’s shop in Palos Heights changed hands late last year, the new owners who walked in the door weren’t exactly new. Manny Rios Sr. and his wife, Silvia, have nearly 50 years of combined experience in…
New owner will keep Palmer Place name and burgers Copy
Spread the loveBy Steve Metsch Palmer Place Restaurant and Biergarten, a mainstay in downtown La Grange for nearly 40 years, will soon have new owners. But not much else will change. The name on 56 S. La Grange Road will still read Palmer Place. The employees now there will still have their jobs. And the…
Palos Park could be making its decision on gaming on Monday
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Will Palos Park make its decision on bringing in gaming machines to the village on Monday? The world will have to wait until Monday to find out. The village council will meet for the first time in 2022 on Monday after its Jan. 10 meeting was cancelled because of a…
Pekau takes Rubin and Foxx to task over mandate punishments
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Orland Park has Cook’s County’s attention. The village’s decision to vote against enforcing Cook County COVID-19 mandates at a special meeting Dec. 28 has been a hot topic. The village’s position is that businesses need not require proof of vaccination for patrons to enter. Some businesses are taking the board…
‘These bruises won’t heal’
Spread the loveCPS kids back in school, but bitterness remains By Tim Hadac Teachers who walked off the job in the new year returned last week after the Chicago Teachers Union rank and file voted to accept Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s offer of increased safety measures at schools. But it was a divided vote, with just…
Smooch from a pooch
Spread the loveMutts of the Midway volunteer John Shaker smiles as he gets a smooch from Burt, a 5-year-old American Pit Bull/Boston Terrier mix. Shaker works as a transporter, driving dogs to and from veterinarian appointments. The 37-pound Burt was rescued by the non-profit Mutts of the Midway from a shelter in Texas. For several…
Neighbors
Lawmakers pass on oversight vote for Pritzker’s prison closure, rebuild plan
By HANNAH MEISEL & DILPREET RAJU Capitol News Illinois news@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – For the last two decades, each time a governor has moved to close a large state-run facility like a prison or mental health center, a legislative oversight panel has voted on the plan. That changed on Friday – at least for now –…
‘We don’t really know what we’re voting on,’ top Dem says of Pritzker’s prison plan
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com LINCOLN – On the eve of a scheduled vote to advise Gov. JB Pritzker’s administration on plans to close and rebuild a pair of dilapidated state prisons, hundreds filed into a junior high school gymnasium Thursday evening clad in matching green T-shirts. Printed on the shirts was a…
Illinois child tax credit: who gets it, how much is it?
By ANDREW ADAMS Capitol News Illinois aadams@capitolnewsillinois.com In the final hours of their spring legislative session, Illinois lawmakers approved a tax credit of up to about $300 for families with young children. The credit is available to Illinoisans with children under age 12 who qualify for the federal Earned Income Tax Credit, or EITC. Although…
Members of House speaker’s staff sue over ongoing unionization conflict
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Members of a would-be union representing staffers in House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch’s office filed suit against their boss on Friday, asking a Cook County judge to force recognition of the union. The Illinois Legislative Staff Association, which formed in the fall of 2022, claims Welch’s…
Elections board urged to dismiss complaint that Bailey illegally coordinated in 2022 campaign
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com A hearing officer is recommending the Illinois State Board of Elections dismiss a complaint that alleged conservative radio host and political operative Dan Proft illegally coordinated with former Republican state Sen. Darren Bailey during his 2022 campaign for governor. Proft, a one-time gubernatorial candidate himself, is behind an…
Communities, commission push Pritzker admin for more prison plan details
By DILPREET RAJU Capitol News Illinois news@capitolnewsillinois.com Jimmy Soto spent more than 42 years wrongfully imprisoned in Illinois Department of Corrections facilities. In 2020, he was moved to the “F-House” at Stateville Correctional Center in Joliet, a condemned unit, not because he was being punished, but because it was where the facility was housing individuals…
Judge blocks law that would have banned newly slated candidates from ballot
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com A Sangamon County judge on Wednesday blocked the Illinois State Board of Elections from enforcing a new law that would have prevented certain General Assembly candidates who didn’t run in the March primary from getting on the November ballot. The move doesn’t void the bill in its entirety,…
“No Schoolers”: How Illinois’ hands-off approach to homeschooling leaves children at risk
By BETH HUNDSDORFER & MOLLY PARKER CAPITOL NEWS ILLINOIS investigations@capitolnewsillinois.com This article was produced for ProPublica’s Local Reporting Network in partnership with Capitol News Illinois. It was on L.J.’s 11th birthday, in December 2022, that child welfare workers finally took him away. They arrived at his central Illinois home to investigate an abuse allegation and decided…
Brushing off concerns of overspending, Pritzker signs $53.1 billion state budget
By ANDREW ADAMS JERRY NOWICKI & HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois news@capitolnewsillinois.com CHICAGO – Gov. JB Pritzker on Wednesday signed the state’s $53.1 billion spending plan for the upcoming fiscal year, the largest in state history. The signing caps months of work – and tension – among top Democratic leaders in Springfield and within the…
Stalled bills: ‘Dignity in Pay Act,’ Prisoner Review Board changes fail to move
By ALEX ABBEDUTO, COLE LONGCOR & DILPREET RAJU Capitol News Illinois news@capitolnewsillinois.com A bill eliminating the subminimum wage for workers with disabilities failed to pass the General Assembly ahead of its May adjournment, although sponsors say they hope to pass it when lawmakers return in the fall. The federal Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938…
WOW – EPCHS looks way different from when I went there in 1980…. I’m sure the test score are up too