Pacesetters ‘kick’ it at state

The Newton High School Pacesetters Dance Team took home second place for its kick routine, fifth place for jazz and sixth place for pom, along with three Division I ratings and a slew of other soloist awards during the 2022 High School State Solo and Team Championships last weekend in Des Moines.

Alyssa Beerends, MeLayna Budinich, Brooke Linahon, Ella Price, Julianna Richardson and Addy Terpstra received Division I ratings for their solo performances. Budinich, a freshman, and Linahon, a sophomore, also placed ninth and tenth, respectively, for their solos, which were held at Hy-Vee Hall.

Team routines were also performed at Hy-Vee Hall, as well as Wells Fargo Arena. Graham Sullivan, coach of the Pacesetters dance team, was pleased with the turnout, particularly the kick routine. When the dance group was formed more than 50 years ago, Pacesetters were well known for their kick performances.

“Our red velvet costume that is kind of a traditional costume is actually at in the Iowa Hall of Pride. It’s one of our original costumes with the original boots and gloves are in that. We are one of the original Iowa kick teams, if you will,” Sullivan said. “But yeah it feels really great. Obviously you’re always shooting for first.”

Second place trophy for kick — a difficult category — is also the best finish any of the current members of the team have received, even the four-year seniors.

Sullivan has been coaching the team for about three years. She and her fellow coaching staff have been trying to elevate the Pacesetters to a point where people see the team as athletes and not just dancers. Sullivan said it is easy for people to see the team as “cute” and “entertaining” with their half-time routines.

“But that’s not what our season is all about,” she said. “Our home performances are fun, yes, and they’re entertaining — and that’s what they should be — but a lot of (people feel like) that’s just all they are is home performances. They’re very different from our competition performances.”

The Pacesetters season is state, Sullivan added. Preparing for state is what the team sets out to do as early as June. The team learns its state routines over the summer. It takes from then on until the first week of December to make sure routines are state-ready. It is so much more than learning a dance, Sullivan said.

“They really are athletes and they work so hard to get where they are,” she added. “You have students that have been dancing since they were two years old and are phenomenal dancers. And you have some that have never had any formal training and just have the talent but also then the work ethic to keep up.”

Sullivan estimated the team put in more than 300 hours of practice time this year.

What’s next for the Pacesetters? Sullivan said the team wants to compete in nationals on Feb. 17, which requires a great deal of fundraising. Pacesetters recently raised more than $5,000 from a “Donkeyball” tournament, in which community members and teaching staff played basketball while riding donkeys.

Sullivan said it would take about $30,000 for the team to go to nationals. Other fundraising opportunities will be held throughout the year, including the Pacesetters’ annual winter show on Feb. 12. The team is also holding a Snap! Raise fundraiser online, which is similar to a GoFundMe.

As of Dec. 8, the group has raised $3,120 out of its $3,500 goal on Snap! Raise.

Contact Christopher Braunschweig at 641-792-3121 ext. 6560 or cbraunschweig@newtondailynews.com