STRIKE A POSE — Fairmont Dance Team members Cadence Leiding (front left) and Kendra Blomster (front right), along with Bel Lutterman (back left), Kate Grogin (back middle) and Emma Hilgendorf, strike a pose during their varsity jazz routine at Tuesday night’s Big South Conference competitive dance invitational at Cardinal Gym in Fairmont. (Photo by Greg Abel)

FAIRMONT — Marshall and Worthington traded the top two spots in the varsity kick and varsity jazz divisions during Tuesday night’s Big South Conference competitive dance invitational at Cardinal Gym in Fairmont.

Marshall’s 17 dancers seamlessly transitioned from a blended mix of outfits into three distinct kick lines to capture top varsity team honors with a score of 3.

Worthington’s high-energy and straight-legged routine netted second place in the varsity kick competition with a 6, St. James Area claimed third place at 10.5, while New Ulm finished fourth with a 10.5.

Host Fairmont’s varsity kick competitors Georgia Werre, Jaydan Moses, Allie Streit, Maddie Johnson, Emma Hilgendorf, Braelyn Miller, Alyvia Anderson, Kate Grogin, Cadence Leiding, Kendra Blomster, Bel Lutterman and Emma Pockrus placed fifth with a total of 15.

Unfortunately for Fairmont, senior co-captain Sydney Blomster experienced an injury in the pre-meet warmups and was unable to compete in both varsity kick and varsity jazz.

“All it takes is one person to be unable to compete and their absence can throw the entire synchronization of the routines off,” said Fairmont Dance Team assistant coach Lisa Carlson. “On a positive note, we were happy to host the conference meet for the first time since we created this program and enjoyed the overall experience.”

Worthington and Marshall then flip-flopped the final team results in the varsity jazz showdown, with Worthington edging Marshall for the crown, 3.5-5.5, respectively.

New Ulm netted 9 to place third, Fairmont’s fivesome of Cadence Leiding, Kendra Blomster, Bel Lutterman, Kate Grogin and Emma Hilgendorf tallied a 12 to net fourth, while St. James Area claimed fifth at 15.

Worthington captured the junior varsity jazz division with a 3 to fend off Marshall’s runner-up score of 6.

St. James Area garnered third with an 11, Fairmont competitors Georgia Werre, Jaydan Moses, Allie Streit, Maddie Johnson, Jovie Rogge, Braelyn Miller, Alyvia Anderson, Season Kotewa and Emma Pockrus collected fourth with 12, while New Ulm nabbed fifth with 13.

St. James Area outdueled New Ulm for the No. 1 spot in the junior varsity kick competition, 3-6.

Fairmont did not have a team in the junior varsity kick category.

The Fairmont Dance Team competes in the 13-team Byron Invitational starting at 1:15 p.m. Saturday in Byron.

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The Fairmont Dance Team competed in the seven-team Glencoe-Silver Lake Invitational on Jan. 4 in Glencoe.

Fairmont captured third place in the varsity jazz competition with a team score of 9. Host Glencoe-Silver Lake won the division with a score of 4, while Tri-City United generated a total of 7 to collect runner-up accolades.

Fairmont also claimed third place with a total of 9 during the junior varsity jazz event. Tri-City United tallied a 5 to win the bracket, while St. James Area turned in a runner-up mark of 6.5.

Fairmont rounded out the invitational by finishing fifth in the varsity kick competition with a score of 14.5.

Glencoe-Silver Lake rolled to first-place honors with a 3, Tri-City United collected second with 6, New Ulm chalked up third at 10.5, while Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop garnered fourth place with 11.

St. James Area won the junior varsity kick event with a 3 to edge out runner-up Glencoe-Silver Lake’s score of 7.

Fairmont did not have a team in the junior varsity kick category.