VALENTINE, Neb. - In the Valentine High School gym, banners hang proudly for state titles in wrestling, golf, and basketball. But this week, a new piece of history was raised into the rafters—marking the school’s first-ever state championship in dance.

After years of dedication, early morning practices, and perfecting their routines down to the final eight-count, the seven-member team earned the Class C1 state jazz title. They also finished as runner-up in pom.

“We put a lot of time and effort into all of our dances, and it’s so rewarding to see the outcome of that,” said senior Cadence Swanson, who, like most of her teammates, has been dancing since kindergarten.

For Swanson and fellow senior Jenalee Garwood, the title was the culmination of years of hard work.

“That was the peak moment after all four years,” Garwood said. “The last two years we were a little disappointed with the results, but this was crazy and such a wonderful experience.”

The team has competed at state for five years, but 2025 marked the first time Valentine had a squad focused solely on dance—rather than a combination of cheer and dance.

“Dance is still really new for our town, but it’s something to be proud of,” said head coach Amy Arganbright. “These kids are involved in so many things, and to have that success is really exciting.”

Indeed, the dancers are far from one-dimensional. They balance their time between other activities like golf, track, wrestling, and speech—all while maintaining an average GPA of 3.9.

“We have 6:30 a.m. practices,” Arganbright said. “It’s about being responsible, being accountable, taking care of all the things you have to take care of so you can get up and work in the morning.”

For Swanson, dance has offered more than medals and muscle memory. It’s helped shape who she is.

“Physically it helped me in sports, but it also helps mentally,” Swanson said. “You definitely have to have a certain mentality to be in dance because there’s a lot of things that can cause stress. It helped me develop into the person I want to be.”

Both Swanson and Garwood are graduating this spring, but they’re confident their team is ready to keep the momentum going.

“It’s so cool to see we can actually do that,” Garwood said. “I think it’s going to help the next few teams to really go far. They have the motivation and can say, ‘Yeah. We can do this.’”

For the Valentine dance team, the trophy may be the official reward—but the true prize may be the lifelong lessons learned from dancing through it all.