Telling the story of an FMS dance national title
FHS dance team also in Orlando off a dominant state performance
FMS won Junior High Pom and placed second in Junior High Jazz.
“I am extremely honored that we placed as well as we did at the competition for both the middle school and high school team,” said Macy Brink, head coach of both middle and high school teams.
Being Brink’s third year coaching, the middle school has won Junior High Pom national crown the last three years.
“Honestly, it is incredibly humbling,” she said. “Since I have been coaching, we have been national champions each year, and it’s a testament to the hard work of the dancers and just the program in itself of the legacy of Farragut dance.”
Brink said 6,090 dancers and 403 teams — middle school and high school combined — at the nationals.
FMS dance team has 13 members in grades sixth through eighth. Team members are Mary Ella Wendell, Cate Fowler, Rylee Chronis, Natalee Mack, Sarah Shoup, Emma Kate Kilpatrick, Ella Marie Lambert, Parker Miller, Caitlyn Stickley, Emery Campbell, Brooklyn Knight, Audrey McCaleb and Rylee Mack.
FHS team also in Orlando
Also competing nationally in Orlando and coming away with a top-10 finishes, Farragut High School team members are Whitney Gohn, Addison Fink, Makenna McDonald, Sadie LaFrance, Mary Aspin Scott, Drew Patterson, Cassidy Stickley, Natalie Mahoney, Sadie Floyd, Lydia Finnegan, Sydney Derr, Caroline Seagraves, Piper Belcher and Mary Elizabeth Noble.
“I am just surrounded by an extraordinary coaching staff,” she said. “We have assistant coaches (Laura Warrington for FMS and Victoria Ogier for FHS), as well as school sponsors (Elizabeth Wilson for FMS and Amy Whirter for FHS), and we just have incredible choreographers that join us and come up with routines that they compete.
Both the FMS and FHS teams were dominant in state competitions in November.
“Both teams competed in Jazz and Pom and both teams won both titles for Pom and Jazz,” Brink added. “My biggest thing is state titles, national titles — those are all incredibly rare and huge accomplishments for these teams.
“It’s something they should be so proud of. But as a coach, what I’m more proud of is just the humility and the work ethic and type of young women that these girls are.”
Key ingredients
“The entire Farragut coaching staff, we center our program around just empowering young women to succeed and to grow and just to be humble competitors,” Brink said. “So, I think more than anything I am beyond proud of their accomplishments and their placements throughout the entire season and at nationals.
“But more than that, I am just proud of the young women they are and the way they are continuing to soar way beyond their years, as far as maturity, and the way they handle themselves in competition settings, as well as just day to day,” she added.
“More than anything, we are proud of what we are building as a program, the culture we are creating and the atmosphere for these kids in a world where there is a lot of pressure for these kids with social media. … We are really focusing on cultivating an environment that just allows them to succeed and to grow.”
Looking ahead, other roles
With the season now ending, the teams gear up in April with auditions for the upcoming season and hit the ground running.
The teams also perform at school football and basketball games and other events.
