The junior varsity Golden Girls dance team has become back-to-back national champions after competing virtually in the NDA High School Dance Team nationals. The team is undefeated in the JV gameday category, bringing home both the 2020 and 2021 titles.

With a team larger than ever before, the 16 girls performed a fight song, chant, sideline, and pom routine. After moving into finals in first place, the team maintained their lead to take home their second title. 

Of the 16 team members, 10 were freshmen. The JV team size has grown exponentially, having only seven members in 2019. 

Along with the impressive gameday performance, JV placed second in JV pom and third in JV kick. The varsity team placed fifth in large varsity kick and gameday, and fourth in small varsity pom, marking this year as the first in which all Golden Girl routines placed in the top five nationally. 

Additionally, 2021 marks the third year straight in which the Golden Girls have taken home a national title, previously winning the small varsity pom category in 2019 and JV gameday in 2020. 

“I’m so proud of this team,” said JV dancer Izzy Gates (10). “We’ve worked really hard this year and it paid off.”

The girls were initially disappointed when they heard that OHS was restricting them from attending Nationals in person. The teams compete in only four competitions a year, with the definite highlight being the Nationals trip to Orlando. The Golden Girls are known throughout the country as a talented team, and were disappointed to have to compete virtually. However, their hard work and dedication paid off in a major way.

“I wish we could have gone to Orlando, but I’m glad we still got to participate and succeed,” said varsity dancer Macy Richter (11).

COVID-19 hit the Golden Girls program hard. Practice schedules were interrupted by required quarantines several times. The girls had to practice and perform in masks the entire year, including both in-person and virtual competitions, making it difficult for judges to evaluate their facials and overall expression score

“It was challenging to stay motivated knowing we weren’t allowed to travel as a team this year,” said varsity captain Bella Ferrario (12), “but we wanted to make sure we created the most positive environment and best possible experience for the future of the program.”

Despite the challenges, the Golden Girls pushed through to rise to the top, consistently placing highly in every competition. If things are back to normal by next competition season, the JV team hopes to defend their national title for a third time straight.

“I hope things go back to normal so that I can perform on the Nationals stage,” said JV dancer Caroline Manning (9). “I think we definitely could take the win again.”