Elijah Clayton and Hannah Shinsato waltzed, tangoed and quickstepped their way to two recent regional championships. The pair took firsts in Junior Silver Standard and Junior Gold Latin at the USA Dance Northwest DanceSport Championships in Seattle Oct. 25.

Clayton, 11, lives in Renton and Shinsato, 12, in Snohomish. The junior division is for ages 12-15. Gold is the second-highest competition level in ballroom dancing, and silver the third highest. Open is the highest. The standard competition also included the foxtrot. In the Latin competition, the pair performed the cha cha, samba, rumba and jive.

“I feel really proud of him,” Eric Clayton said of his son Elijah, who started dancing at age 6.

He was also proud of Elijah’s performance for the Renton Rangers later that night. With Elijah’s help, the Rangers beat the West Seattle Wildcats 27-6.

Last spring, Clayton and Shinsato, took first places in the standard and Latin competitions in the 12 and under category at the National Dance Council of America U.S. National Amateur Dancesport Championships.

And the young dancers may soon become televised stars. They were recently interviewed by the producers of the children’s edition of “Dancing With the Stars,” and hope to earn a spot on the show next year.

Emily Garland can be reached at emily.garland@reporternewspapers.com or (425) 255-3484, x. 5052.