The Spartans of Nashua, N.H., last year's Division II World Champions, came out on top tonight in Brockton, Mass., at the Division II&II Divisional Finals. The Spartans scored 96.275 tonight, while the East Coast Jazz scored 95.625 "I thought they were exceptional. Tonight was by far the best. The show was very emotional, and high energy," said Spartans director Peter LaFlamme. The Spartans topped the East Coast Jazz, who had previously bested the Spartans as recently as Monday. In that contest the East Coast Jazz scored 94.450, and the Spartans scored 94.100. "I always love the ending the best. The beginning and the end have the best musical impact," La Flamme said. In Division III action, the Raiders (87.75) topped international contestants Taipei Yuehfu (87.6) due to a .5 timing penalty because of running 16 seconds overtime. This week the Spartans will work on "Tweaking the show. (We'll) keep practicing, keep performing – that's all they can do. All they have to do is perform it, and that's all they're going to do. (Then) Come back and do it again Saturday. LaFlamme was impressed with the competition. "They're all very good, and that's why they're here. I have nothing but praise for all of these groups, directors, students and instructors," LaFlamme said. Cassandra Dutile, a Spartans front ensemble member, has really enjoyed herself on the road. "This summer's been a lot of real hard work, we're all being pushed to our limits and it's been a really great year."