Molahiettes snag 3 state titles in Yakima

MOSES LAKE- When they're not in class, members of the Moses Lake High School drill team are busy racking up state championship titles.

The Molahiettes brought back three state titles from the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA) State Dance/Drill Championships held in Yakima last month. The team competed in the Pom, Military and Kick categories, and won the top award in all three.

The three wins this year add to the squad's accomplishments in 2012, when the Molahiettes took home two state championship titles.

Coach Lori Baker said teams are only allowed to compete in three out of six categories during state championships, which makes winning the state title in all categories a team competes in an impressive feat.

"Three is the most you can win," she said. "It's only been done one other time in the history of the state tournament, and that was by us in 2010."

Two of the Molahiettes' current captains, seniors Mckenna Reis and Ciarra Garza, were on the squad the first time the team won three state titles.

Pulling off three wins again was an emotional moment, said Garza.

"There were tears of joy, we definitely cried," she said.

Both Reis and Garza have been Molahiettes for three seasons. Reis said she will head to Washington State University in the fall and try out for the school's Crimson Girls dance team.

Garza said she will either attend WSU or Eastern Washington University, although she plans on joining a dance team at whatever college she attends.

Reis said she will miss dancing with the Molahiettes once she graduates.

"The team unity we have is great, it's more like a family than a team," she said.

Garza agreed and said the team's multiple state titles are evidence of their ability to work well with each other.

"You hear a lot of teams say they don't get along, but ours gets along great," she said. "It's nice that we can just connect and go out there and give it our all."

This year's team is made up of 23 girls, including seven seniors. Camiel Bruneel is the third Molahiettes captain.

Coach Peggy Earl said she was proud of the team's performance at this year's state tournament. She said it was clear the Molahiettes were focused on putting on a good show for spectators and not just on winning.

"So many people say they just came to see Moses Lake, or they came to support their team but they won't leave until they see the Moses Lake performance," she said. "We enjoy entertaining the audience, winning is just the icing on the cake."

Baker said the team will hold tryouts for next year's squad in May. Practices will begin in August, and competitions will start in December, she said.

Baker said she is excited to see what the Molahiettes will accomplish next season.

"I love seeing how far we can take them," she said. "Every year we set some kind of goal, something we didn't do the year before."

Baker said the team might try to focus on different categories this year, or try to master new techniques.