Top 4 Placement in 4A championship
Mullen moved up a notch from a year ago behind 3 strong seniors.
A year ago, the Mustangs were fifth in Class 4A. Late the past month, they moved to fourth, much to the delight of second-year coach Lauretta Ruppert. They competed in the state spirit championships at the Broadmoor World Arena in Colorado Springs.
“It’s super awesome,” Ruppert said. “This year, we had a newer team, a bunch of girls who had never been varsity poms before and we are finalists finishing fourth.”
The Mustangs, who also finished fourth in the Centennial League competing against 5A schools at Overland in Aurora, did it with only nine girls. Ruppert said a lot of the other teams had more than two dozen girls
At state, Mullen advanced from a 20-team division. Five went on to the finals.
The Mustangs competed to a mix of the Swedish pop band Abba “and we did great,” Ruppert said.
Mullen finished behind champion Erie, Evergreen and Roosevelt.
Ruppert credited seniors Parker Durand, Alexandra Palmer and Samantha Perri.
“They went above and beyond this season with the circumstances of (the coronavirus, COVID-19) and starting the season later,” Ruppert said. “All of them are captains. I was impressed with their leadership and guiding our younger girls.”
Two of the seniors, Durand and Palmer, are headed to Villanova, and Perri will attend Elon, according to Ruppert, who added the three may pursue poms on the next level.
Shelby Caplis, Madeline Cardiff, Samantha Durand, Elizabeth Dutton, Quinn Mochan, and Ellie Rodriguez rounded out the roster.
Ruppert said “our kids have a variety of dance backgrounds.”
The season normally runs from August through March, but because of the pandemic was limited from October into March. Her team, Ruppert said, had more than its share of two-a-day practices and adjusted to not being able to perform its normal community activities.
The team also fares terrifically in grade-point average.
“I’m very proud of them,” Ruppert said.
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