The Silver Stars competed at the National Dance Alliance’s national competition in Orlando, Florida on Friday, Feb 22 and Sunday, Feb 24, scoring third in jazz and ninth in pom.

In addition to their group placements, the Silver Stars also received the NDA’s “Unleashed” award, something that head coach Katie Jackson acknowledges is far from ordinary.

“It is given to a team [that] judges pick, it’s not given in every category, to a team that they feel like brings a unique and entertaining routine. We received [the award] for our jazz routine.” Jackson said.

Those awards were won with hard work, according to senior Olivia Augustine.

“We had practice almost every single day of the week leading up [to the competition], and then we also had really intense practices throughout the year for our normal competitions to prepare,” Augustine said.

While the team may have placed higher in pom last year, Jackson believes the team has still greatly improved.

“We actually scored higher this year by a pretty considerable amount,” Jackson said. “Two and a half points, which doesn’t seem like a lot but it’s a lot in the dance team world. […] We just had stronger competition with us.”

Heading home with their heads held high, the Silver Stars get to return to Mill Valley with “two really, really good performances,” according to Augustine, under their belt.