Holy Angels Dancers Sweep State Competition

It’s a clean sweep for the Academy of the Holy Angels dancers! All three AHA teams brought home state titles at the New Jersey Cheer and Dance State Championships. This February 27 event was hosted by Brookdale Community College in Lincroft.

The Academy’s newest team, which represents AHA Middle School, won the hip-hop competition and the Game Day event, which highlights school spirit and service. Varsity and JV earned a total of four wins, as each team took first place in pom and hip-hop.

“What a great way to close out our competitive season,” AHA Head Dance Coach Jenny Sweet said of her teams’ accomplishments.

AHA began the month of February by winning national medals at the Universal Dance Association High School National Championships in Orlando, Florida. At that event, varsity dancers earned silver in small varsity hip-hop, finishing second out of 37 of the nation’s best teams; and earned bronze for finishing third out of 57 teams in small varsity pom. The JV dancers earned a national silver medal in pom, and finished sixth in hip-hop. The middle school team, which made its debut in the national spotlight, finished sixth in hip-hop and eighth in Game Day.
 
Varsity dancers include Mackenzie Crimmins, Quinn Reicherz, Ava McAdams, Melina Hiza, Juliet Gelineau, Karis Cho, Noelle Wacker, Katie Fragola, Arwen Parmelee, Ella Cho, and Hannah Kim. This team is coached by Sweet.

 
The JV squad, which is led by Coach Alyssa Aponte, includes Samantha Zeccardi, Chloe Kwon, Kathleen Bing, Yeon Choe, Caroline Kartman, Caelyn Lindsay, Alexandra Nicholas, Maggie Yu, Maggie Danahy, Olivia Leys, Gianna Pasquale, Isabella McMahon, Jordyn Wynn, and Lydia Schmidhauser.
 
Kristen DePeri and Krystina Vafiadis coach the middle school team. Team members are Isabella Rodriguez, Sophia Garzon, Cristyn Lindsay, Ava Cifelli, Emily Kho, Maddie Krol, Annabella de Leon, Lyla Dove, Cyia Sabathia, and Leyla Ziemba.

Founded by the School Sisters of Notre Dame in 1879, the Academy of the Holy Angels is the oldest private girls’ school in Bergen County. While AHA is steeped in Catholic tradition, this prestigious school serves young women from a broad spectrum of cultural and religious backgrounds. Over time, thousands of women have passed through AHA’s portals. Many go on to study at some of the nation’s best universities, earning high-ranking positions in medicine, government, law, education, public service, business, arts, and athletics. The Academy’s current leaders continue to further the SSND mission to provide each student with the tools she needs to reach the fullness of her potential—spiritually, intellectually, socially, and physically, by offering a first-rate education in a nurturing environment where equal importance is placed on academic excellence, character development, moral integrity, and service to others.