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Honestly, it was petrifying. Before I got on stage I felt like I wanted to cry and not do it but then I remembered when my captain Melissa said, “Five months for two minutes.” It clicked at that moment that I wasn’t about to not go on stage just because I was scared. We had all worked so hard to just put it to waste and not kill it out there on that stage; it felt so good to win. I remember when I used to watch my sister in the crowd, I would get so excited for her and I cried when she danced because she was my role model. To experience what she felt on that stage was exhilarating. Winning made the kick conditioning, running, weight training, and practice all worth it.
— freshman Marisol Hernandez