Ausitn Packer dance team captains (from left) Erin Dankert, Madison Wuertz, Kendra Miller, Hannah Bergstrom and Tori Simonson are ready to compete in the Class ‘AA’ state dance meet this Saturday at the Target Center in Minneapolis. — Rocky Hulne/sports@austindailyherald.com

The Packer dance team is preparing for its 12th straight appearance at the Class ‘AA’ state dance meet and the squad’s five senior captains are feeling a strong mix of excitement and nervousness as the meet draws closer.

The Packers are coming off a third place finish in the high kick division at the Section 1AA meet this past Saturday, but they feel they can do even better at state. The team is aiming to make it to the finals and it would like to perform better than the Packers did in last year’s fourth place finish at state.

“I feel we can do better. It wasn’t one of our top performances, so it leaves a lot of improvement for state so we can go out with a bang,” Erin Dankert said.

The Packers are used to the ambience of the state dance meet, but there is still plenty of pressure. It’s not easy for the dancers to get in a gym with the 12 best teams in Class ‘AA’ and stay calm.

“There’s still a lot of nerves,” Madison Wuertz said. “It definitely helps being familiar with the floor. It’s nerve racking, but we’re excited. It’s our last year and we’re ready to give it all we’ve got. We have nothing to lose, so if you break your leg it’s not a big deal.”

Austin was led by first year head coach Kayla Sellers this season. The team had to adjust to a new group of coaches, but they came together by the end of the year.

“I’m super excited. We have new coaches but we’re still carrying on the legacy,” Tori Simonson said.

The Packers are slowing down their workouts this week to stay fresh for the state meet. Kendra Miller said the team is looking to stay motivated.

“It’s kind of relieving being in the top twelve, but we want to get in the top six and then the top three,” she said. “We think of it as a lot more fun now that we’re going.”

All five senior captains have gained good experience by competing with the Packers, but the team has also learned plenty of things that can help it away from the sport.

Hannah Bergstrom said being on the dance team has helped in her in many aspects of life.

“I’ve been able to be a lot more confident with things because of dance,” she said. “You perform in front of thousands of people and your confidence level gets boosted with not just dance, but school and projects too.”

Even though the sport requires plenty of strenuous practices with hours of kicking, Dankert will look back on her experience fondly. She said the sport helped her develop a good attitude.

“I’m able to push myself through things I never thought possible,” Dankert said. “I feel like a lot of people think just because we’ve gone the last twelve years, it’s like ‘Oh they always go to state.’ It’s definitely something we work for. It’s not easy and we’re blessed to have a good dance program in Austin.”

Austin will compete in the Class ‘AA’ high kick qualifying competition at 2 p.m. If the Packers are in the top six, they will compete in the high kick finals at 7:15 p.m.