Austin wins Class AA High Kick State Dance Title

(ABC 6 NEWS) – There’s some big news for the Austin Packers Dance Team! They’re now state champions!

The team took first place in the high kick division in Minneapolis over the weekend.

"It was definitely really exciting for us girls to make it to state again," Kennedy Bell, senior at Austin High School said.

"It was intense the entire day, we were going against some extremely talented teams," Kayla Sellers, head coach for the Austin Packers Dance Team said.

And throughout all the moments of the competition, the Austin Packers Dance Team made it across the finish line.

This is the 20th consecutive year the girls went to state to compete in the high kick competition.

"We focused on the things that we could control which were the three minutes that we had on the floor," Sellers said.

"It doesn’t just come from showing up to practice, we work super hard so just hearing our name called is just the rewarding feeling we wanted at the beginning of the season," Kennedy Bell said.

But as the girls ran off the stage and savored the moment, it was Kennedy’s last.

"It was a bittersweet moment, just because it was her last year and her last dance on the floor," Leni Bell, Kennedy’s mom said.

"It felt really good to end my senior year with a first-place medal. I never thought that when I was on the team in 8th grade and 9th grade that would be possible," Kennedy Bell said.

And for head coach Sellers, this is special for her.

"I was an eighth-grader the first year Austin went to state in high kick. We medaled that year," Sellers said.

She’s a part of a legacy that continues to inspire her.

"Put in the hard work, and push yourself to the max. Dreams do come true," Sellers said.

On Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. the Austin community is hosting a welcome home celebration for the girls in the Knowlton auditorium.