Austin Bayles ducked, Ryan Gurney dove, and after loosing a hard throw toward the two Panthers wide receivers, Montezuma-Cortez High School dance team member Wesley Kirks danced. Then, all three classmates looked at one another and smiled.
Such was the scene when more than 50 M-CHS students joined together and competed in the second annual M-CHS Dance Team Dodgeball Tournament in Ron Wright Memorial Gym on Oct. 25.
The tournament featured eight teams that each paid a $50 entry fee for the opportunity to compete. Money raised at the tournament will be used to help cover expenses associated with the dance team.
Among the several teams competing in the tournament, no group was more impressive than “The Playoffs,” a team made up of Gurney, Bayles, Josh Ramos, Andrew Finch and Colton Reynolds.
Together, the group, dressed in array of costumes highlighted by Ramos’ Ninja Turtle outfit, defeated every team that they played, including the Dance Team in the tournament finals.
“I thought we were supposed to dress as Ninja Turtles, but after last night,” I guess our name is “The Playoffs,” said Ramos, alluding to the M-CHS football team’s victory over Alamosa.
“The (dodgeball) was great added Gurney. “It was fun and it felt good to support a good cause.”
According to dance team captain Shannyn Livingston, the M-CHS dancers will compete in a regional competition in Durango on Nov. 8. The team will then travel to its state competition, which will take place in Denver on Dec. 5-6.
“We’ve been practicing every morning at the school,” said Livingston. “We’ve been dancing at football games and after state, we will dance at basketball games.”
“Even though we didn’t win the (Dodgeball Tournament), it was a lot of fun,” said Kirks.
Be sure to catch the M-CHS dance team in action during halftime of the Panthers playoff football game against St. Mary’s on Oct. 31.