By J1 Reporter Aubrey Decher

The Marian Dance Team recently returned from a trip to Orlando, Florida for Nationals. They competed in both the jazz and pom categories at the competition. This year was especially memorable for them as it was the first time they have made it to the finals round for jazz since 2018. “It’s definitely super difficult to even make it to finals and the fact that we did really shows our team’s dedication and commitment to our goal of making it there,” second-year team member sophomore Karsyn Bandow-Stroebele said.

In Florida from Jan. 31 through Feb. 2, the team finished 13th in jazz overall for their division. Getting this far in the competition required the team to practice up to five times a week together starting the end of last school year. “We definitely faced setbacks like finding motivation and being on the same page,” dance team captain junior Piper Albers said.

Getting to Nationals also required the team to earn a blue ribbon at UDA camp this summer which acted as their ticket to the event. The team said making it to finals made all the work worth it and was the most rewarding part of the experience.

The trip to Florida is also an important bonding experience for the team. They enjoyed dinners out together and trips to Disney, complete with matching outfits in their time off. While the team was thrilled to reach their goal of making it to finals, they already are thinking about next season and setting even higher goals for themselves for the next National competition.