Submitted by VCHS Athletic Director Jeff Gallagher

We want to wish our swimmers good luck Friday, Feb. 17 at the state championships at Mt. Hood Community College Aquatic Center. The doors to the event will open at 1 p.m. with the preliminaries starting at 1:45 p.m.. The finals will be held on Saturday; for the schedule, click here. Our swimmers have had a great year and we are looking forward to a great weekend. Listed below are the state qualifiers.

Girls’ Relays:

200 Medley Relay (Seeded 7th)
200 Freestyle Relay (Seeded 2nd)
400 Freestyle Relay (Seeded 7th)

Girls’ Individual:

200 Freestyle – Kathleen Shew, fresman (seeded 7th)
200 IM – Julia Anderson, junior (seeded 6th)
50 Freestyle – Hailey Moraes, freshman (seeded 12th)
100 Butterfly – Momoko Mayumi, sophomore (seeded 3rd)
100 Butterfly – Julia Anderson, junior (seeded 7th)
100 Freestyle – Kathleen Shew, freshman (seeded 5th)
100 Backstroke – Momoko Mayumi, sophomore (seeded 4th)
100 Backstroke – Catherine Lo, senior (seeded 11th)

Submitted by Lori Anne Anderson for the Charisma

The Charisma Dance team will face their biggest challenge of the dance season to date on Saturday, Feb. 18 when they travel to Parkrose High School in Portland. They will be competing head-to-head in a division with Stayton, Scappoose, Astoria, Gladstone, and Philomath, who currently hold top spots in the 4A team rankings.

“Megan and I are so proud of our team this year. While many teams avoid competing outside their own classification if they can, our athletes welcome the experience. It pushes them to improve,” said Coach Jessica Anderson. “The Charisma will have to bring their A-game to Parkrose, as the Stayton Highlights set the bar of excellence extremely high. Stayton’s nine consecutive state championships are unprecedented. This should be an interesting day in the company of the best teams in the state.”

For half of the Charisma members, this season is their first year of competitive dance team. “Our newest members have worked extra hard to rise to the level of our returning dancers. It’s phenomenal how much they have accomplished this year,” said Anderson. “As coaches, we appreciate this and continue to be impressed with this team’s work ethic and commitment.”

With less than a month to go in the season, the Charisma dancers have learned all of the choreography for their routine. “For the first time this year, the Charisma will compete with the nearly five-minute-long Ghost of a Girl routine,” said Anderson. “Aerobic conditioning is very important so the dancers can perform the complete piece with the necessary energy. We should gain a very clear understanding of what we will need to do next to make the routine state worthy and if the judges want to see us make any changes.”

The Parkrose competition is the largest of the year, featuring 24 competition dance teams from around the state, including teams from both the dance/drill and the show divisions. The festival judging system will be utilized. Rounds start at 11 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. with doors opening about 30 minutes prior to the start time. Tickets are $6 per round or $10 for an all-day pass. The Charisma is the final team to dance during first round and will be performing to the north side of the gym. The second round performance order will be announced after first round scores are tabulated.

“The Charisma dancers would love to see their supporters in the stands at Parkrose. Wear this year’s team colors of black and gray so the dancers can spot you,” said Anderson.

“Like” the Valley Catholic Charisma Dance Team on Facebook to stay up-to-date with dance team news.

Submitted by Communications Specialist Danielle Tomich from information provided by Steve Hoffman

Congratulations to Molly Hoffman, VCHS senior, in signing a letter of intent to play softball at Everett Community College (EVCC) in Washington. Molly, who has been playing softball since age 7 in the Amateur Softball Association (ASA), received the honor of making All-League in softball as a pitcher last season as a junior. She chose Everett over other schools partly due to encouragement from a VCHS alumna currently attending EVCC (Jill Suratt).

With three VCHS state championships under her belt—softball in 2009 and dance team in 2010 and 2011—Molly has a real possibility of making that four or five championships, again in dance team and softball. She is also a captain on the Charisma Dance Team.

She plans on getting an associate of arts in fire science, and hopes to become a firefighter/paramedic.

Submitted by Lori Anne Anderson for the Charisma

STAYTON - It seems to have become almost a habit. The Valley Catholic Charisma Dance Team brings home a first place trophy just about every time they step onto a dance floor, and Saturday was no exception. The Charisma easily dominated their 1A/2A/3A division at Stayton with a score of 73.22. The Santiam Wolverettes of Mill City were second. In the overall standings, the Charisma ranked 5th behind Crook County (Prineville); Marshfield (Coos Bay); Milwaukie and South Albany.

Freshman Danielle Lomartire used focus and concentration to outlast the pressure of the individual drill down competition to finish in the top five in the novice division. More than 125 dancers were called to attention at the start of what is a “Simon Says” of marching commands that get progressively harder as the competition continues. If a dancer makes a mistake while executing a called command they are eliminated.

Although team scores dipped a bit from the season high at Thurston, the coaches suggested it could be attributed to competition dynamics, a larger number of competing teams at Stayton, and the festival judging format which utilizes two separate three-person judging panels which can cause scores to vary significantly between rounds. “We scored higher during the morning session than we did in the second round. Our overall scores remain fairly consistent with what we earned last season, but as a team we strive to improve our scores each time we compete,” said Coach Jessica Anderson. “Ghost of a Girl has so much potential and our dancers are committed to putting forth their best efforts to achieve their goals. While there were many positives about yesterday’s performances, the judges’ scores and comments identified areas we need to work on to be at our peak for state,” added Anderson.

Savvy dance fans have learned to listen closely to the announcer when the Charisma is introduced. The words offer a clue about the routine: the introduction, “Dance your reality in a world beyond the obvious. Can you see me? Am I invisible because you ignore me?” sets the stage for the elegantly eerie contemporary dance piece. What is real and what is an illusion? Are the dancers girls or are they ghosts? Or do they represent feelings of loneliness, confusion and self-doubt? The costuming is subtle: no tangled hair, gothic white faces, black eyes or lips here. The mood is conveyed with powerful and effective dance movement, the interaction of music, lyrics and voice-overs along with the emotional connection the dancers make with the spectators.

“During the next two weeks the dancers will be learning the choreography for the end of the routine. We will be dancing the entire Ghost of a Girl routine at Parkrose High School in Portland on Feb. 18 where we will compete in a division that includes Stayton and several other 4A teams,” said Anderson. “The season is racing towards its conclusion. It’s scary how quickly the time has passed. I know I say that every year, but it’s especially true this season.”

Because the Charisma is scheduled to compete on Wednesday, March 14 and Thursday, March 15, the first two nights of the State Championship Competition, they will be sacrificing nearly a week of practice time. “We have to be state-ready a few days earlier than last year due to the schedule change. We are thankful that we were able to get a strong early start with this routine and that our dancers are so hard-working,” said Anderson.

[Show as slideshow]

Danielle Lomartire with Drill-Down Medal

First place at Stayton!

Submitted by Lori Anne Anderson for the Charisma

After a three-week hiatus from competition, the Charisma Dancers will be back on the dance floor Saturday, Feb. 4 at Stayton High School. Far from idle, the dancers have spent their practice time since their last competition learning more of their state routine, Ghost of a Girl, and perfecting it.

According to team sources, the Stayton Competition is exciting because many of the best teams from around the state will be there, including several teams that finished in the top two from last year’s state championships and an exhibition performance by the nine-time defending 4A champion Stayton Highlights. Teams travel from as far away as Prineville and the Southern Oregon Coast to compete at Stayton. It’s also the first time this season that the Charisma will go head-to-head with other teams from the 1A/2A/3A division.

“This is a great opportunity for spectators to see a wide variety of teams,” said Coach Jessica Anderson. She also advises, “If you are planning on going to watch, get there early because it’s always a full house. Be sure to sit on the correct side of the gym to see the Charisma from the front. We are the second team to dance both rounds. The dancers have been working very hard and we are hopeful of a strong showing at Stayton.”

Stayton uses the festival judging format so it moves quickly through the 20 teams in attendance. Doors open at 10:30 a.m. for first round and at 1:45 p.m. for the second round. Tickets are $6 for adults and $4 for students each round or $10 for an all-day pass.

Read the latest update on Valiant winter sports!

Feb. 1, 2012 Update from VCHS Athletic Director >

Spring sports will begin Feb. 27. If you have an athlete who plans to participate, they must have a current physical on file in the athletic office. Physicals are valid for two years. Each athlete must have a signed consent and emergency form turned in, as well as the $100 spring athletic fee.

Athletic forms can be found here. >

All three items must be in the athletic office by Friday, Feb. 24 in order to participate in practices or try-outs on Feb. 27. If you have questions, contact Jeff Gallagher in the athletic office at jgallagher@valleycatholic.org.

The Valiants are on a roll!  Read about it in this article published by the Beaverton Valley Times.

Read about the Valiants’ efforts to be the best team in the league in this article posted by Beaverton Valley Times.

Charisma is all smiles after winning first place in Thurston. Back row, left to right: Danielle Lomartire, Serena Stoiantschewsky, Karina Jaroch, Naoko Yamawaki, Mariah Stokes, Leah Klaas, Norimi Funatsu. Front row, left to right: Patricia Nguyen, Clarissa Tolan, Molly Hoffman

(See a related article published online by Beaverton Valley Times Jan. 19, 2012)

SPRINGFIELD -The Valley Catholic Charisma dancers made an impressive competition debut for dance season 2012 at Thurston High School on Saturday, Jan. 14. After watching the Charisma perform first round it was clear their trophy was never in jeopardy. A strong second round performance left no doubt that Valley Catholic’s two-time defending 1A/2A/3A state champion dance team was making a statement. The first place trophy in the small team division and the giant box of candy for winning the “Most Entertaining Routine” award at Thurston were both well deserved. The score put the Charisma first in their division by more than 15 points over the Sweet Home Huskiettes of the 4A and the 6A North Eugene Dance Team. In the intermediate team division Marshfield (Coos Bay) placed first with second place going to Sunset (Beaverton). The winner of the large team division was Stayton and Philomath was second.

It was the score sheets and the judges’ comments that literally brought one coach to her knees eyes while the other coach flashed a 1,000-watt smile. The Charisma dancers had earned an impressive score of 75.61, the highest score they have ever received at a January competition. But it was the realization that the competition’s overall standings had the Charisma in second place for the day only two and a quarter points behind the seemingly invincible 9-time defending 4A Champion Stayton Highlights’ score of 77.80 that delighted the coaches.

“I always feel if we can stay within 10 points of Stayton’s scores, that we’ve had a good day. This was a very good day indeed,” commented Coach Jessica Anderson. “Stayton has dominated dance competitions for the last 12 years. That the judging panel thought so highly of the Charisma’s Ghost of a Girl routine is overwhelming. Megan and I are beyond proud of our dancers. This is a history-making day.”

The Charisma dancers are a young team this year with only three seniors, no juniors, five sophomores and two freshmen, but they danced with poise and confidence. “One of the comments we kept hearing over and over from other coaches, was how prepared we looked for this early in the season, and judges have made comments complimenting our team on how ‘well-trained’ our dancers are,” said Anderson. “Our athletes are very hard-working and all the hours of practice and cleaning really paid off for them today.”

The dancers travel to Stayton on Feb. 3 for their next competition, where they expect to compete head-to-head with teams from the 1A/2A/3A classification. “We are off to an amazing start so far. The Stayton competition will be a true test of the strength of our routine this season,” said Anderson.

Senior team captains Molly Hoffman and Leah Klaas spent Sunday participating in the selection process for the All-State Dance Team. Klaas also auditioned for the Dance Drill Coaches Association Dance Scholarship on Monday. Results will be announced at State. Hoffman said her experience at All-State “…was really fun. I made a lot of good friends and learned some new technique and stretches.”

The OSAA has released the preliminary schedule for the State Championships in March. This year the Charisma will dance on Wednesday and Thursday nights March 14 and and 15 along with the show team division and the 4A dance teams.

Ticket and spectator information is posted on the OSAA website.