Seven Van Buren County soloists and four Fairfield soloists competed at the Iowa State Dance Team Association State Solo Qualifier on Friday, October 23rd in Pella, with multiple athletes from both programs earning Division I ratings.
Competitors in 13 different classes perform their solo routines before state judges, with a score above 80 points earning a Division I rating. The top 10 highest scores across each class then advance to the ISDTA State Solo Championship in December, where competitors are fully ranked first through tenth.
Van Buren County
Out of 12 dancers for Van Buren County, seven of them performed a solo in Class III, with five earning Division I ratings and one advancing to the state championship.
Brystol Wiley, a sophomore, earned a top 10 finish and will advance to the ISDTA State Solo Championship in December. Out of more than 70 soloists, she was joined by Kinley Weiler of Central Lyon, Kinsey Townley and Adrianna DeGroot of Hinton, and Nella Rivas, Addison Wagner, Hadley Fitch, Maci Bauer, Cali Knudsen and Ally Adams of Panorama. Wiley credited her dance coach for the achievement. “Brystol would like to thank her dance coach Caleb Meiners for choreographing her state solo,” coach Jeni Wiley said. Wiley also earned a Division I rating at the qualifier in 2026, marking back-to-back strong performances at the state level.
Freshmen Tymber Boyles, Mya Charbonneau, Paizley Mercer and Naomi Mahon each earned Division I ratings in their first appearances at the state qualifier. Sophomore Lilly McEntee also earned a Division I rating, repeating her Division I performance from 2026. Junior Coley Holtkamp earned a Division II rating.
Wiley capped off a remarkable 48 hours, qualifying for state in dance just one day after her 30th-place finish served as the tiebreaker that clinched Van Buren County’s district cross country championship and a trip to the state meet on Thursday, October 22nd — earning back-to-back state berths in two different sports in two consecutive days.
Fairfield
Four Fairfield soloists competed in Class VI with three earning Division I ratings.
Senior Teagan Gilchrist, who has signed to compete at Iowa Central Community College, earned a Division I rating for the second time, also earning the distinction in 2024. Senior Sophie Skalicky, who has signed with William Penn University, also earned a Division I rating. Eighth grader Delylah Roberts rounded out Fairfield’s Division I performers.
Senior Addison Qualters, who has signed with Mount Mercy University, earned a Division II rating. Qualters earned Division I ratings in both 2025 and 2026 before this year’s result.
Head coach Heidi Bowman said she could not be prouder of how her soloists performed on the state floor. “I am very proud of these girls who competed against 77 other dancers in the state of Iowa. As their coach, I could not be prouder of these girls who stepped onto the state floor with such confidence, grace, and dedication.”
Bowman said the effort these dancers put in goes far beyond what people see on competition day. “These girls have poured months of practice and dedication into their routines to perform before state judges, families, and fans. Dancing a solo at state takes incredible courage, and each one of them represented the FHS dance team well.”
She also highlighted the team’s early morning commitment heading into the next competition. “We have team dance practices at 6 a.m. to prepare for our state competition and halftime performances for FHS basketball season.”
What’s Next
Both programs will continue their seasons at the High School Team and Solo Championships, scheduled for December 2-4 at the Casey’s Center and the EMC Expo Center in Des Moines. Van Buren County will look to make their mark as a team while Wiley returns to the state floor for her solo, looking to compete among the top 10 and chase a championship finish. Fairfield will compete with both a pom routine and a MIX routine — a format that challenges teams to incorporate two to five dance styles, including pom, jazz, hip hop, kick, and military, set to a 1-minute, 30-second song provided by the ISDTA.
