Eastview's dominant dancers head to state on their annual mission

Eastview heads into the dance team state championships facing the challenge dynasties face: Do it again.

The challenge comes with a catch in this case: Do it with a new coach.

The state championships begin Friday at Target Center with the jazz competition and continue Saturday with high kick. Eastview swept those titles in Class 3A the past three seasons and six times since 2014. The Lightning has won the high kick championship 14 times.

Jenny Raiche, who coached the team for 20 years and whose team won half of the available state championships in those years, stepped down after last season. "I left on a high note," she said.

Raiche didn't go far. She's an assistant coach — she called it "involved behind the scenes" — to Taylor Varghese, a 2010 Eastview graduate who competed under Raiche and was an Eastview assistant coach for nine years.

The Lightning went 12-3 during the regular season, losing to Lakeville North and Wayzata in high kick and Maple Grove in jazz. That's a little more losing than Eastview is used to, and Varghese said it's clear a championship is not guaranteed.

"It really will come down to that one day," she said. "It's been a while since it's been that way. This year everyone has stepped up their game."

Her first season came with a gap. Varghese took two months off to have a baby, Everett, who is nearly three months old now. Varghese got back to coaching when the new year began.

She said having Raiche as an assistant has served her well.

"When I have a question, she's there to answer it and help me navigate the things she has put in place the last 20 years," she said. "She's always there as a listening ear. She's kind of seen it all."

Varghese said that by her measure her first season as head coach is already a success.

"A lot of people have tried to define who we are in the midst of change, or who we might become, but our legacy comes from within," she said. "How we practice, how we relate to one another, what we expect from each other, and that success to us looks like 100 percent, 100 percent of the time."

In Class 2A, Benilde-St. Margaret's in jazz and Austin in high kick return to defend their championships. St. Cloud Cathedral swept in Class 1A last season and is aiming to repeat.