The Western United States Region of the Irish Dance Teachers Association of North America held its regional Irish dancing championships in Anaheim, California November 18-20, 2011.  Twenty adjudicators from Australia, Canada, Germany, Ireland, the United Kingdom and the United States judged dozens of competitions for solo competitors and teams.  More than 2,000 dancers, teachers and Irish dancing fans from Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Washington and Wyoming flocked to the Hilton Anaheim. Many families made a vacation of the trip, with its proximity to Walt Disney World.

Thirteen defending champions topped the podium again, with Butler-Fearon-O'Connor sweeping eight regional solo titles, more than any other individual school. Congratulations to everyone who placed, and best wishes to the World Qualifiers and National Qualifiers as you prepare for the Majors in 2012!

TOP FIVE SOLO COMPETITION RESULTS
For Team Results, see our blog post here at Go Feis! The Irish Dance Blog

U8 Girls

1 Deirdre Smith Butler-Fearon-O'Connor
2 Fiona Akazawa Dillon Moore
3 Christina Doolan Wick
4 Maya Coyne Butler-Fearon-O'Connor
5 Molly Kipp Tir Conaill

U8 Boys
1 Niall Finnegan - Healy
2 Colin Clark - Power
3 Eric Jones  - Celtic Steps

U9 Girls
1 Katja Behrens - Celtic Steps  Defending Champion!
2 Katie Boatwright - Tir Conaill
3 Izzzy Taulli - Kelly
4 Allison Greening - Celtic Steps
5 Ava Mourtizen -  Butler-Fearon-O'Connor

U9 Boys
1 Eric Crone - Tir Conaill
2 Lorcan O'Longaigh  - Yeates
3 Aaron Jimenez  - Celtic Steps
3 Zane Emming  - Moriarty-Moffitt
5 Kieran Miraz - Tiernan

U10 Girls
1 Maggie Whibbs - Butler-Fearon-O'Connor
2 Siena O'Regan  - Kelly
3 Bridget McMahon  - Comerford
4 Mackenzie Moore-Kosslow - Bracken
5 Molly Shehan - Celtic Steps

U10 Boys
1 Cameron Lambert - Comerford  Defending Champion!
2 Dillon Ecker - Martin Percival
3 Liam Boyd  - Tir Conaill
4 Braeden McDonald - Celtic Steps
5 Liam Kelly - Celtic Gold

U11 Girls
1 Alexis Farnsworth - Acadamh Rince
2 Maggie Fitzgerald  - Claddagh
3 Mary Teresa Diesslin  - Martin Percival
4 Chloe McGovern - Butler-Fearon-O'Connor
5 Bella Bravin - Maguire Academy

U11 Boys
1 Joey Rougas - Butler-Fearon-O'Connor  Defending Champion!
2 Logan Porter - O'Connor
3 Aiden Shannon - Celtic Steps
4 Max Tucker - Maguire Academy
5 Tristan Bouchard - Comerford

U12 Girls
1 Maeve Smith  - Butler-Fearon-O'Connor
2 Renae Marshall  - Wick
3 Maegan Betz -  O'Sullivan Academy
4 Madalyn Wenger  - Celtic Steps
5 Allyson Talpash  - Donna Means

U12 Boys
1 Nate Schutte -  Butler-Fearon-O'Connor  Defending Champion!
2 Thomas Harvey  - Claddagh
3 Dallin Womack  - Scariff
4 Sam Taylor  - Martin Percival

U13 Girls
1 Tess Cruickshank  - Kelly  Defending Champion!
2 Clare Casey  - Whelan-Kennelly Academy
3 Erin Armstrong  - Cleary
4 Sara Heller  - Claddagh
5 Victoria Schull  - Maguire Academy

U13 Boys
1 Christophe Bouchard  - Comerford
2 Josh Garzaniti - Celtic Steps
3 Christian Conaway  - McCartan
4 Ryan Evans - Lyons
5 Ciarin Rule  - Greene-Comerford

U14 Girls
1 Carley Reger * Butler-Fearon-O'Connor
2 Libby Decker + Tir Conaill
3 Meghan O'Connor * Cleary
4 Devin Byrne * Butler-Fearon-O'Connor
5 Devon Olinger + Butler-Fearon-O'Connor

U14 Boys
1 Ian Mannenbach - Yeates
2 Geoffrey Woods  - Comerford
3 Cody Stoelk  - Yeates
4 Liam Critchely  - Tir Conaill
5 Peter Farrell - Maguire Academy

U15 Girls
1 Ann Maire Kenny  - Claddagh  Defending Champion!
2 Amanda Probert  - Claddagh
3 Hannah Labrie-Smith  - Butler-Fearon-O'Connor
4 Sophie Beirne  - Butler-Fearon-O'Connor
5 Cristina Curcelli - Comerford

U15 Boys
1 Jake Grey  - Comerford  Defending Champion!
2 Brendan Herridge  - Tara
3 Ryan Lohmeyer - Malone
4 Jeffrey Decker  - Heritage
5 Matthew Peterson  -  Kelly

U16 Girls
1 Kinsey McNevin  - Wick
2 Chelsea Hoy  - Wick
3 Lauren Shinnick - Celtic Steps
4 Sarah Farley  - Celtic Steps
5 Aine McGovern  - Whelan-Kennelly Academy

U16 Boys
1 Sean Weller  - Celtic Steps  Defending Champion!
2 Ryan Sibbald - Rose-Ritchie

U17 Girls
1 Melanie Kane  - Butler-Fearon-O'Connor   Defending Champion!
2 Mia Leonelli  - Claddagh
3 Gabrielle Corrigan  - Penk-O'Donnell
4 Emily McNellan  - McTeggart
5 Megan Weber - Healy

U17 Boys
1 Makulumy Alexander-Hills  - Claddagh
2 Brian Perry-Carrera  - Butler-Fearon-O'Connor
3 Ryan Ostiller  - Butler-Fearon-O'Connor
4 Byron Maltez -  Butler-Fearon-O'Connor
5 Hadley Hofreiter - Celtic Steps

U18 Girls
1 Tori Lopez - Comerford
2 Katie Anschuetz - Comerford
3 Katie Shaughnessy - Painter-Larson
4 Erin Hayes - Wick
5 Kaitlyn Guyle - O'Connor

U18 Men
1 Greg Molony  - Martin Percival  Defending Champion!
2 Casey Kelly - Celtic Gold

U19 Ladies
1 Alanna Callaghan - Claddagh  Defending Champion!
2 Kinsey Brimhall - Comerford
3 Emily Macconnell -  Butler-Fearon-O'Connor
4 Annabella Maurera - Wick
5 Ashley Allen - Claddagh

U20 Men
1 James Macsweeney - Whelan-Kennelly
2 Martin Garfield-Levine - McTeggart
2 Justice Odem - McTeggart

U20 Ladies
1 Olivia Griffin - Butler-Fearon-O'Connor  Defending Champion!
2 Sarah Cherry - Tir Conaill
3 Candice Corrigan - Penk-O'Donnell
4 Marcia Speights - Celtic Steps
5 Diana Eales - Aniar

20 & O Ladies
1 Devon Nishida  - Claddagh
2 Jackie Flynn - Healy
3 Tehya Baxter - Butler-Fearon-O'Connor
4 Tasha Straszewski - Painter-Larson
5 Kaleigh Jeffers - Penk-O'Donnell

20 & O Men
1 Blaine Donovan - Celtic Steps  Defending Champion!
2 James Reese - Tir Conaill
3 Joe Poch  - Celtic Steps
4 Marshall Roberts - Power
5 Mark Pottinger - Bennett

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