2007 Drill Team Competition — Roy thrilled to capture its first 4A state title

OREM — Clint Colvin spent most of the summer sleeping in his car.

"I worked the night shift and my daughter had to be at (drill team) practice at 5:30 a.m.," he said. "So I would pick her up and sleep while she practiced."

A little less sleep and maybe a sore neck seemed like a small price to pay for the experience his daughter had Friday night as the Royals' drill team capped an amazing turnaround with its first 4A state title at Utah Valley State College.

"This is just the neatest thing for these kids," he said, watching them take photos with the trophy that will now grace the school's hallway. "Dallas (Draper, the coach) did an awesome job of pulling these girls together."

Not easy for a woman who took over a program that was dead the past three years ago. "We were in very last place," she said of her first year on the job. "Last year we didn't place at state, and this year we won. My girls are amazing. It's just so magical."

Roy won the Military competition, took second in Dance and second in Prop. That gave the Royals the overall title, while Granger, a team that wowed the audience with their prop routine, finished in second place in 4A.

Bingham captured its fourth straight title in 5A, winning the Dance competition and placing second in Military and Prop. In the 3A classification, Logan won top honors with a win in Dance and second-place finishes in the other two categories. It was the Grizzlies' first drill title since competing in 4A in 1996.

The 2A teams saw a first-time winner crowned as South Sevier edged drill powerhouses Manti, which finished second, and Millard, in third place. The Rams won the Prop category and finished second in the other two competitions.

In 1A, Duchesne followed the Miners' lead and captured its fourth straight title by dominating the competition and winning all three categories as well as the overall.

Colvin said the Roy team has improved so much since Draper took over three years ago that their success earlier this season almost got the best of them.

"They won one of the first competitions they went to, and she was great about not letting it go to their heads," he said.

The girls couldn't agree more.

"It was a new experience," said Aly Larsen, a senior on the team. "We just let it go to our heads a little."

Her teammates nod in agreement.

"We lost momentum after we won that first competition," said senior Destiny Calvano. So what did their coach say to them that brought them down to Earth and put them in position to win that 4A title?