Totino-Grace, school is located in Fridley Minnesota. The school is a faith-centered community filled with dedicated teachers and staff supporting students’ future preparation and success.  However, these successes have not been limited to the classroom.   Totino Grace has been making local headlines for years. 

When we often think of Totino-Grace and their success in sports, many tend to think of the football or boys basketball team. While these teams are both very successful they are not the most successful in the school’s history, Totino-Grace’s Winter dance team is.

The E’gals, as they go by, have had 27 state appearances in the past 27 years, since joining the Minnesota State High League in 1997. Only 5 of these years did the E’gals not metal. 

This is a remarkable achievement that not many teams can say they have done. 

What makes the E’gals so successful?

There is more than just one answer to this question. 

“We are more than just a team. We are a legacy. We are a sisterhood.”, said Maria Morrison, a junior on the E’gals. 

The E’gals work so well together because they are working for more than just themselves. “We work for our teammates. We work hard for each other.”, Morrison said. 

The legacy and sisterhood of the E’gals runs deep. This is a team that is full of first, second, and even third-generation E’gals. 

“Once an E’gal, always an E’gal!”, Purpose Price, a junior on the E’gals explained. “I love that our coaching staff always sets up an alum practice every year before sections. It makes me feel so supported and so encouraged to do my best and leave everything I have out on the floor for them,” Price said. 

Behind all of the hard work and dedication of the dancers, is the coaches. 

The E’gals coaching staff is very unique. Every coach was an alum and a state champion at Totino-Grace. “They know what it takes to be a state champion, and they understand how hard it is to get there,” Price said. 

“Our coaches will tell us how it is, they are very direct, especially Kristen Gagnon.”, said Morrison and Price. 

As a staff, the E’gal coaches give everyone an equal opportunity to be on the E’gals. They focus on their dancers and what they want their legacy to be.

Head coach Kristen Gagnon pushes her girls to be the best they can be. She is a motherly, fearless, charismatic person who applies each one of these qualities to her coaching. 

Gagnon is currently preparing to be inducted into the Totino-Grace Athletic Hall of Fame, on October 4th, 2024. Humbly Gagnon is excited to receive this award. 

She states, “ I am the coach that I am, because of my former coach Margret I would not be the coach I am today without her.”.  

The coaches and dancers receive so much support from athletic director Mike Smith and Totino-Grace president Mr. Junker. The E’gals are a team that lives out the Totino-Grace values and is encouraged to do so.  

The E’gals are a beloved team that sets a great example of what it means to truly be a team.