The Prowlers competed at the National Dance Team Championship in Orlando FL. The team traveled to the contest Jan. 28 to Feb. 1.

The team spent their time at at Disney World, visiting the parks and performing on Saturday. For the freshman on the team, it was a new experience that was lead by the older girls who had competed at Nationals before.

“It was kind of nerve racking because a lot of them have been dancing together a lot longer than we have, so they were a lot more in sync,” said freshman, Kathryn McCauley.

On the other hand, the seniors on the team were not intimidated because of the experience they had.

“It was a lot of fun getting to lead the team, and helpful for the team to have the experience before going,” said senior, Taylor Holbrook.

The team started preparing for nationals at their weekly practices.

“Early weeks it was probably four to six hours a week and later weeks it was about ten to twelve hours a week,” said Holbrook.

On Saturday, both teams competed. JV and Varsity both brought their Pom and Jazz dances to the competition.

“I think that we did two great performances, we came together as a team, and used all of our energy and put all the hard work on the floor,” said Holbrook.

The team didn’t end up making it to the final rounds at Nationals, but they did make memories that would last a lifetime.

“I think the best experience was just being with my teammates and getting to a lot of fun things, as well as once on a floor that national champions have danced on,” said Holbrook.

Despite all the fun that the team had at Disney, and all the dances they performed they did lose two of their senior dancers to injury. Briana Cottingham tore her ACL. Cottingham injured herself at a routine halftime performance, just before the team left for Nationals. Senior Kathryn Elliott also injured her knee while dancing. Elliott was able to travel with the team and cheer them on from the side, but Cottingham had to stay behind and prepare for her surgery.  Though Cottingham was hundreds of miles away, she still kept in touch with the team and tried to stay positive.

“I put little tips in the groupme, reminding them to do certain things and listen to the coaches and they even sent me flowers for me to get motivated for my surgery,” said Cottingham.

The Prowlers will be back at nationals again with plans to make it to Finals. Despite the hardships of losing two of their seniors to injuries, the team pulled through their troubles.