On March 27, the Rangerettes competed in Galveston for Nationals, winning eight awards in total. They received first place in Officer Open, Officer Lyrical, Officer Contemporary, Officer Modern, National Champs Small Team Officers, Team Hip-Hop, Team Jazz, Team Kick and Small Team Officers. 

Sophomore Eva Ryan gave some insight as to what the energy was like leading up to the competition.

“I think everyone gets a little bit nervous for performances and competitions,” Ryan said. 

This sentiment was also echoed by the team’s coach, Rose Troche.

“I was nervous, like I am for every single competition, but we were excited. We had a good season overall so leading up to this moment we just really wanted to end it doing our absolute best,” Troche said.

Despite the pre-competition jitters, Troche believes that the nervous anticipation was not for nothing.

“They were our best performances yet and winning national titles was just the cherry on top,” Troche said.

In particular, there were specific performances that stood out to many members of Rangerettes.

“The most fun event was probably the hip hop ensemble because everybody was really hyped and people were actually dancing with us and it was very fun,” sophomore Kaitlyn Arechiga said.  

Sophomore Lauren Lozoya went into more detail about the hip-hop event and what made it such a memorable performance experience.

“We got the crowd going with us and even the other schools that were our biggest competition cheered us on,” Lozoya said.

Although fun, the competition is incredibly high stakes and was a little daunting at first. 

“The stress levels are super high before we go out there,” Lozoya said. 

This is coupled with the scope of the competition, which only adds to the intensity. 

“This competition in comparison to other competitions was the hardest because we had to go against schools from all over the nation and the state,” Johnson said

However, the team was quite prepared for the challenge brought on by the competition. 

“I did better the day of because my adrenaline and my energy were super high. It just made me dance the best that I’d ever danced before,” Arechiga said.

Lozoya also spoke of rising to the challenge of Nationals.

“I had more energy and more of an adrenaline rush, so when the pressure is on you are forced to do your best,” Lozoya said.

Part of their success is owed to the practice they were able to get in beforehand..

“Last year at Nationals was our only competitions but this year it was our third one and our last one so we had a bit more preparation for it,” Lozoya said.

All of these sentiments and the whole experience of nationals were summed up by Troche.

“I was just proud of the journey of both practices and competitions. There was a lot of growth in all events and we were consistent throughout the entire season and that made everything just so much more special,” Troche said. “It made it more fun because we were prepared and just went out there and enjoyed ourselves.”