Ankeny Winter Guard Wins Third Straight State Title

ANKENY, IA — The Ankeny High School winter guard won its third straight state title in Class III Color Guard during the annual Iowa State Drill Team Association competition last week. The Ankeny team competed against ten other schools in its class.

"I am so proud of the dedication, teamwork and determination that this group has shown," choreographer and coach Darrin Mell said in a news release. "We keep pushing them further, year after year, and they keep stepping it up and exceeding our expectations."

The guard also received a Distinguished Academic Achievement Award for earning a cumulative GPA of over 3.5 for the 2016-17 school year.

Members of the winter guard are Kayli Abarr, Tia Beenblossom, Ciara Brown, Joe Cave, Madeline Cisneros, Abi Coglizer, Anna Escherich, Rachel Heitz, Lexi Higar, Olivia Johnson, Rebecca Maire, Claire McGohan, Abby Nagel, Savanna Scholl, Dasha Toth and Molly Wick. Additional coaches are Liz Lovell and Jennifer Williams.

The state competition was held Friday, Dec. 1, at the Iowa Events Center in Des Moines.

Photo provided by Ankeny schools