The Sequoit dance team has lost some key seniors in the past years, but they are making it clear that there is nothing is going to slow them down. The young dance team performed their routine with a top score of 87.7. Dominating the conference is something that the Sequoits are no strangers to. With this win, the team grabs the title for the third year in a row.

Coaching a young team can be risky, but if the team is winning conference titles with a strong group of sophomores and juniors, the future is promising.After the strong classes that have graduated in the past, there’s pressure of an entire community on the young dance team from what they left behind. Before the past dancers departure, they spread some knowledge on the upcoming Sequoits.

“They were a huge help,” junior Alyssa Colpaert said. “They taught us how to lead a team and how to make sure we all work together. The team we want to build is the same team we used to have, with the elite upperclassmen leading the way and teaching the underclassmen how to carry the torch once they leave. We wouldn’t be the team we are if it wasn’t for the classes that have graduated in the past.”

The team knows what it takes to keep the plaque where it belongs. It is the responsibility of the upperclassmen of today to make sure that the future members can continue the winning tradition that has flowed through the Sequoit dance team for years. The team has carried class with them for the entirety of the season and at the conference competition, junior Grace Rowe was rewarded with the sportsmanship award.

“It’s an honor to represent the team like this,” Rowe said. “Sportsmanship is something that the team takes pride in, and it means even more to me to be the sportsmanship award recipient on the best team in the conference.”

Rowe and Colpaert are just two examples of the strong junior class that helped boost the team to another conference title. Junior dancers Julia Hackeloer and Kara Galarneau both were announced captains of the team at the beginning of the season and have worked tirelessly to see the team reap the benefits of specials moments like being crowned the best team in the conference for the third year in a row.

Being an underclassmen on this team is a dream come true for freshman Carissa Lozano.

“They have helped me believe in myself,” Lozano said. “They’re not only my team mates, but my best friends.”

In the years to come, underclassmen like Lozano will push for conference titles and more, just like the team is now.

As the team grows, the more they learn what it takes to be the team that their former Sequoits would want them to be. With sectionals on the horizon, the team needs to buckle down and get back to their winning ways as they look to make a run for state.