KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Members of the West Valley Middle School Dance Team can call themselves national champions; twice.
Coach Amanda Varne said that bringing home two national titles was a first for the Knox County school.
"This is the 10th year that we have competed at Nationals. We won our first national title five years ago and hadn't won one since. Our goal was just to get one this year, so two was the icing on the cake. We didn't see that coming," Varnes said.
Varnes said the win was made even sweeter when you look at all of the challenges the team overcame throughout the pandemic.
"We had had tryouts the first week of March. Then, the next week, was when we went red and we were out of school for the next six months. So, we literally played the waiting game for months. We had zoom practices. We spent every day, not knowing what tomorrow would look like. So, I think the fact that we got to go and compete and it turned out the way that it did," Varnes said.
West Valley Middle School competed against other teams that chose the virtual competition option.
