The College of Saint Benedict dance team moved up two spots from a year ago to finish in fifth place in both the Open Jazz and Open Pom divisions at the Universal Dance Association’s College National Championship held this past weekend (Jan. 17-18) at Disney World in Orlando, Florida.
The Bennies recorded a score of 89.6508 in the jazz finals and 86.9524 in the pom finals, besting their seventh-place finish at nationals in both divisions a year ago.
“It was really amazing for our program to be able to jump so high in one season,” CSB coach Kate Williams said. “Our girls have put in a lot of extra work and a lot of dedication, so to see it pay off was gratifying. Our goal has been to break into the top five, and we’ve been so close, so to do it in both categories was impressive.”
The Bennies’ success was part of a big weekend for Minnesota teams at the event. The University of Minnesota took home a national championship in the Division IA pom category, while CSB was one of four Minnesota schools in the top five in jazz and pom in the open divisions.
MSU-Mankato, which won national titles in both divisions, Minnesota-Duluth and St. Cloud State were the others.
“There’s such an amazing dance community in Minnesota, and the coaches and dancers all know each other, so to see everyone have the success they did was really special,” Williams said.
The complete results can be viewed here.
