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Sports

South Brunswick Excels at National Dance Team Championships

Vikings among top 22 squads in country in all four divisions.

It was quick. It was exhausting. More than anything else, however, the trip to the National Dance Team Championships was very successful for South Brunswick.

"We did great," South Brunswick Coach Regina Boudwin said.

Competing against the best high school dance teams in the country in the National championships in Florida, South Brunswick's squad placed among the top 22 spots in all four of the divisions in which it competed.

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The varsity jazz squad advanced to the final round and placed 18th in the country. The varsity pom team placed 22nd. The top 20 teams in each division reached the final round.

"We never made it to the jazz finals before," Boudwin noted. "It was a huge accomplishment to make it that far. We were on the cusp of the pom finals. The kids did a good job managing that disappointment and turning it into drive for jazz.

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"We got a trophy and pride in a job well done. Hearing your name called that you are making it to the final round is thrilling."

In the JV division, the jazz team placed eighth and pom was 12th.

"It's so hard to know what to expect when you get there," Boudwin said. "These are the best teams in the country. We're squeezing a lot into two long days of competition on Saturday and Sunday. You're prepared to know what you have to bring. You just don't know what other teams will bring."

The members of South Brunswick's dance team that "brought it" at the National  Dance Team Championships are Cassie Yeung, Christina Trautwein, Kayla Allen, Melanie Spilatore, Rebecca Arroyo, Sydney Fiorentino, Jennetta Dellapa, Daphne Donnellan, Kendall Lavaelle, Mackenzie Rice, Gianna Rosamilia, Samantha Orokos,  D'Kota Barrios, Kimberly Reed, Doug Arouh, Anna Goldin, Lexie Hohmeier, Morgan Johnston, Hannah Martin, Danielle McHregor and Kaitlin Swierczek.

It was a fun and successful trip in more than just one way. This included picking the right flights and right day to attend Disney World.

The team elected to fly in and out of Philadelphia, which proved to be a blessing when Newark had a power outage.

"We also lucked out because there weren't too many people at the park on Monday," Boudwin said. "We were only there a couple of hours, but we got on a lot of rides. We were sprinting between rides (laughs)."

You see, all that hard work really pays off. Not only did the team place high in the Nationals, the members still had enough energy to sprint around Disney.

"I'm proud of the team," Boudwin said. "Considering we graduated half of the team from last year, this was a great accomplishment. The new members just took off running."

Fortunately, the team should have a much smoother transition going into next season.

"We don't have ny seniors, so we're looking to keep the momentum going into next season," Boudwin said. "I don't think we ever had a year where we didn't graduate anyone before."

Of course, because of the odd schedule, this season isn't done yet. South Brunswick has state competitions on Feb. 20 and 27. Boudwin and the squad may still be a little tired from the trip to Florida, but they're anxious to get back to work.

"It's all worth it," Boudwin said. "To see the way the kids improve year after year is just tremendous."

 

 

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