Thirty-two teams performing 62 routines competed at the recent DDCA Category Championships hosted by Sherwood. This marked the return of the annual event after a one-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Teams competing in the fall qualify for the DDCA Category Championships by placing first or second and earning a score of at least 13.6 at a local competition. Individual athletes may also qualify to compete in the Drill Down competition by placing in the Top 10 at a local competition.

Noteworthy accomplishments included:

• In the Novelty division, Sprague’s Castaway routine earned the Olyannes their first Category Championship title. The Olyannes ended the season undefeated in the Novelty division.
• Also coming home with their first-ever Category Championship title were the Mavs Dancers from Mountainside. The Mavs Dancers took first place in both the Small Pom and Small Jazz divisions.
• Canby defended their 2019 Modern title and added a title in Small Contemporary. This marks the ninth straight win in the Modern division for the Cougar Dancers.
• Lake Oswego earned their 10^th straight title in Large Pom. The Laker Dancers have won the Large Pom division every year that it has been contested. 
• The Laker Dancers earned a 19.11 for their Large Pom routine to capture the highest score of the day.

In the Drill Down competition, Cleveland’s Madison Middleton won the Advanced Drill Down competition. Middleton was the 2019 Novice Drill Down Champion and is the second student to win both the Novice and Advanced Drill Down competitions. The only other person to also have achieved this accomplishment is Anna Litchman (2013 and 2015). Litchman also competed representing Cleveland.

“I am very proud to have won first place in advanced drill down this year at Category Championships,” Middleton said. “My coaches at Cleveland have always been so motivating in drill down. I feel lucky to have such a supportive and encouraging team. I was thrilled to have won in novice drill down at Categories my freshman year, and I'm so happy to continue representing Cleveland in drill downs this year.” 

Official Results:

• Advanced Drill Down: 1. Madison Middleton (Cleveland), 2. Alexis Wentworth (Forest Grove), 3. Marley Seet (Sam Barlow)
• Novice Drill Down: 1. Maile Sass (Mountainside), 2. Addison Schrotzberger (Scapppoose), 3. Isabella Baker (South Albany)
• Small Jazz: 1. Mountainside, 2. Sheldon, 3. Valley Catholic, 4. Sunset, 5. Putnam, 6. Lakeridge
• Large Jazz: 1. Tualatin, 2. West Albany, 3. Westview, 4. Scappoose, 5. Nelson
• Kick: 1. Forest Grove, 2. Thurston
• Modern: 1. Canby, 2. Clackamas, 3. Sprague, 4. Glencoe
• Small Pom: 1. Mountainside, 2. South Albany, 3. Lebanon, 4. Gladstone, 5. Nelson, 6. Sheldon
• Large Pom: 1. Lake Oswego, 2. Sherwood, 3. Tigard, 4. Forest Grove, 5. Tualatin, 6. Lincoln
• Small Contemporary: 1. Canby, 2. Clackamas, 3. Nelson, 4. Valley Catholic, 5. Sunset, 6. Glencoe, 7. Silverton, 8. Philomath, 9. Sheldon
• Large Contemporary: 1. Tigard, 2. Sam Barlow, 3. West Albany
• Novelty: 1. Sprague, 2. Canby, 3. Sam Barlow, 4. Sheldon, 5. Tualatin, 6. David Douglas, 7. Philomath
• Small Hip Hop: 1. Westview, 2. Scappoose, 3. Parkrose, 4. Mountainside, 5. Philomath, 6. Lebanon, 7. Gladstone, 8. Cleveland
• Large Hip Hop: 1. Sherwood, 2. Lake Oswego, 3. Sheldon, 4. South Albany, 5. Gresham, 6. Nelson

Dance teams will return to competition in January.