Spirit: Eaglecrest Wins Hip Hop, Mountain Vista Wins Jazz State Titles

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DENVER – The rich got richer in the hip hop division on the final day of the Colorado high school spirit state championships.

At the Denver Coliseum on Saturday, Eaglecrest – the state’s most decorated spirit program with 15 total titles – threw down yet another stunning performance to score a 90.975 and claim the 2023 hip hop title. The Raptors have now won the last three hip hop state titles and four of the last five.

“It’s been amazing,” Eaglecrest head coach Kayla Warneke said. “[All of the credit] goes to our kids, they are just fighters. They’re relentless in everything they do. They know what it takes to fight and they push themselves and they push me to get better every single day. That’s hard, but we talk a lot about being a family and we strive for a familial culture. We talk a lot about just being mentally strong too so that when it comes down to it, the pressure and all the hype doesn’t get to them.”

Not only have the Raptors stood atop the statewide spirit division for years, they also became Team USA and won the International Cheer Union’s Junior Hip Hop World Championship in 2022. They are also three-time US National Junior Hip Hop International Champions.

Not far behind the Raptors, Arapahoe finished runner-up with a score of 90.65. Broomfield, last year’s runner-up, posted a score of 90.025 to place third. Fossil Ridge (90) was fourth, Horizon (89.35) was fifth and Fruita Monument (88.475) was sixth.

In the jazz division, Mountain Vista prevailed in the finals with a score of 86.125 to get past defending champion Cherokee Trail and take home the first place trophy. It was a satisfying victory that returned the Golden Eagles, who finished runners-up to Cherokee Trail in each of the past two seasons, back to the top for the first time since March 2021.

“We’ve worked really, really hard to get to this place this year,” Golden Eagles head coach Keri Atchison said. “We’ve come up just a little short the last two years. So to push it over the top this year and watch a group of girls that are so hard-working, so kind, such good teammates, achieve this, has meant everything to me. It was the best they have ever danced.”

Mountain Vista now has five jazz titles and 12 spirit titles overall.

Cherokee Trail’s runner-up score in the finals was 85.15. The Cougars have three jazz titles in their program’s history.