The Sweethearts is a longstanding organization with various traditions and titles to their name. Most notably, the sweethearts are twelve time national champions, earning their thirteenth title in Florida on March 24, 2023. The team took a four day trip to the sunshine state to take home the gold and bond a bit more in the process. 

For freshman members of the team, this trip was the first of many major bonding events in their future. It gave them the chance to make new memories with the sweethearts they’ll spend the rest of their dancing careers with. 

“The entire trip was amazing and I made so many memories with my wonderful teammates,” freshman Makayla Baird said.”Being a Sweetheart means so much to me and I love that I got that chance to bond with all my teammates even more.”

Older dancers felt that this trip served as a marker of how far they’ve come and how far the Sweethearts have yet to go. 

“I feel good about what we did,” junior Eleanor McDonald said. “It felt so good to know I was a part of continuing the sweethearts legacy by bringing home that national title for the thirteenth time.”

This trip was the perfect way for Sweethearts to finish out their year before their annual Summit performance and it helped to showcase the relationships they’ve been forming over the course of the school year. 

“I think we did amazing at nationals and it was an incredible way for us to end the season,” freshman Josie Oatman said. “Since the beginning of the year, we’ve gotten so much more comfortable with each other as we’ve really grown into ourselves. All the bonding early on really helped connect us more so we could feel more in tune with each other in our routines.”

While the trip was fun, it was a wake up call for new and veteran members of the team: their year was coming to an end.

“It felt so good to be home after the trip but it was just a little bit sad,” freshman Leryn Trahan said. “I had so much fun getting to spend all that time with the sweethearts and it was really nice getting to experience that big trip being a new person on the team. It gave me  a chance to bond with some of the older sweethearts in a way they didn’t get to four years ago.”