In a historic achievement, the Marist College dance team secured their first-ever national championship title at the College Classic in Orlando this past April.
Led by senior co-captains Malia Sands and Stella Shortino, the team emerged victorious in the Division IA/1 Hip Hop competition, etching their names into Marist history. Marist competed against multiple D1 schools including Clemson, Jackson State and Kent State University, executing a routine that was created in just a month’s time.
Heading into the final round of the competition, Marist ranked second out of the nine teams competing, trailing Western Kentucky University. Marist’s final routine propelled them to surpass the Western Kentucky Topperettes, as they scored an 89.54 to beat out the competition and win by a mere .48 points.
Sands and Shortino opened up about their journey to success, reflecting on their challenges, the bonds they forged and the lessons they learned along the way. The two seniors joined the dance team in 2021 as sophomores and would later become team captains. They collectively grew the team’s chemistry and worked together closely to lead the team this year.
“We realized how much we could do not only as best friends, but in the way that we choreographed dances and led a team,” said Shortino. “I think that is one of the main reasons why we were able to go so well together through the adversity of our experience and to the point that we were able to win a national championship together.”
The team faced numerous challenges along the way. Financial constraints initially hampered the team; they were forced to go above and beyond to try and secure enough funds to attend their competitions. Fundraising methods included selling raffle tickets, as well as participating in Marist’s first-ever Day of Giving. The pressure mounted as time ticked away, as meeting their fundraising goals seemed insurmountable at points.
“This whole team has been looking forward to [nationals] for months. So it’s the pressure of thinking for some time that we weren’t going because it just seemed like the time period we had was borderline impossible,” said Shortino.
Once learning the team would be able to compete at the College Classic, Shortino and Sands were faced with their toughest challenge yet: prepping a routine for the competition. Until a few weeks before the competition, the team did not believe competing was in the realm of possibility. Yet they managed to create something within a month’s time that would eventually beat out the competition on the national stage.
“Realistically, once we were registered for the competition, we had a month to get our hip hop routine together, start to finish and we were able to do it,” said Shortino.
During the season, the team welcomed a new coach, Rebecca Lewis, a former Marist alum who was also on the Marist dance team from 2018-2022. Lewis came into the role seeking to fill a coaching void by offering support and wisdom, in addition to her unwavering support.
“I think our connection has always been very strong with [Lewis], and she was very familiar with what was going on with the dance team, the struggles that we were facing,” said Sands. “She came in with a really good idea of what was going on and how she wanted to change everything and how she wanted to be there for us.”
Looking ahead, the captains expressed their hope for the team coming off the historic win. Heading into next year, the captain reigns will transfer to Jillian Ciccarelli and Mackenzie Lewis. Sands and Shortino are hopeful the team will be able to achieve continued success, strengthened through the bonds they have already created.
“We really hope that the team dynamic stays the same, that they maintain the same love that they have for each other,” said Shortino. “The closeness and the familial nature of the team remains above all else.”
As they approach the culmination of their dance careers at Marist College, Sands and Shortino exude pride and gratitude for achieving their long-standing goals. It is safe to say their legacy has been cemented by the dance team’s historic victory
“We always have really high hopes for ourselves and for the team and to reach it at the end of our dance career finally, I don’t know how much better it gets them that. It’s everything we could ask for,” said Shortino.
Edited by Luke Sassa
Photo from Alyssa Terralavoro
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