As football season is coming to a close, the dance team that usually performs and aids the cheerleaders in supplying spirit to the fans and audience change direction and head towards their own competition season.

The competitive dance team traveled to Bentonville Oct. 27 to compete in their invitational regional conference.

There, the team competed in the Jazz, Kick, Palm, and Hip Hop categories.  Throughout the whole competition they placed 2nd in Kick, 3rd in Jazz and Palm, and 4th in Hip Hop.

“Overall, it is always good to be able to perform, and I’m pretty happy for how we did with our first competition,” said dance coach Lindsay Smith. “Now we know what we need to work on. It’s not any different than it’s been in the past.”

The competitive dance team members have been preparing for competition since school began.

“I’ve been preparing since August,” said senior captain Abbey Peterson. “We learned our dances then, but we’ve been working on technique since then.”

Taking their scores, time they had for preparation, and it being the first competition, the girls do not believe that they did “too bad.”

“Overall, it was okay because it was a really stiff competition, but I definitely feel like we could have done better,” said sophomore Maggie Miller.

Looking ahead to the rest of the year, emotions are mixed, but outlooks are positive. The returning dancers have a legacy to leave.

“It makes me feel really sad, and it put into perspective that I only have one more competition,” said Peterson. “But, it gives me a drive to be motivated for dance in my future and that will help me prepare for everything, including competitions.”

The sophomores, the newest members of the team, have big shoes to fill.

“I’m excited to continue because I know I’ll get better as time goes on. It’s definitely different than junior high,” said Miller. “I hope we get first in Kick, at least, and then I can live up to what has been accomplished before me.”

At the end of the competition, everyone had done their part to finish at the top at the invitational.

“I was very proud at the very end when we did our last routine and they had made it through the day,” said Coach Smith.