With only seven people on the team, and after enduring a sudden change of head coach in November, the AHS Dance Team – led by senior captain Nikki Blizzard – did the incredible; they came in second (and a mere 3 points behind Bennet, who placed first) in the 3A Poms Division State Championship. According to head coach Eileen Knapp, this success was due to the determination of the students on the team, who worked day after day to perfect their States routine.

“Everyone was there every single day. There was not a single day where someone was missing. I think it was because of this that we were able to persevere and push further. We even practiced over Thanksgiving break, which enabled us to complete the routine and have two weeks just to perfect, drill, and clean it,” head coach Eileen Knapp said. “They really worked hard for this.”

Shortly after the position of head coach switched hands from Heather Starr-Kallas to Knapp, the team made the decision to compete in the poms division instead of the jazz division as they had in previous years, changing their competition from 4a schools to 3a schools. This decision was, in part, due to that fact that the team only consisted of seven people, due to the fact the December ACT and a mandatory Nutcracker rehearsal both scheduled the same day as states made it impossible for many of the team members to compete. Despite this, the seven remaining team members were determined to work hard and make this year of States the best year yet.

Although the team expected to do well, all the team members said that they were “surprised” at the great results. Although they worked hard, many schools began preparing weeks – even months – before them, so a second-place finish was not something that the dancers expected.

“I honestly didn’t expect to place any higher than fifth place,” junior Luke Ryan said.  “Most schools in Colorado practice for about five hours every day after school from August until December just for states, and we choreographed three weeks prior and placed higher than six other schools in our division who have won first and second in previous years.”

However, even though their success was a pleasant surprise to them, the dancers feel as if they put their best work and effort into making every practice as productive and as worthwhile as it could possibly be.

“I credit our success to the [hours] of practice we put in every day, drilling the dance over and over again,” Ryan said.

The group of only seven students and three coaches (Candice Sipsey and Hannah Gregory assisted Knapp with rehearsals and choreography) grew close over the process of preparing for states, and Knapp said that their finishing second in states was one of the “absolute best moments” of her coaching experience, and the dancers agreed.

“Honestly, it’s hard to choose a best moment of states, because the whole experience was so much fun. Hearing we were in finals was probably the best moment for me, if I have to choose though,” freshman Reiss Rosier said.

Although Ryan said that picking a standout moment was “difficult”, he did have one that stood out more than the rest.

“The best moment at states was sitting in the Coliseum waiting for the announcements to finals,” Ryan said. “Hearing them announce our name…well, it was amazing.”