Eshal Firoze | The Chronicle
Two minutes. That was how long the Mason High School Varsity Dance team had to bring perfection to the biggest stage of the year.
On February 7, 2026, the talented group of 22 dancers left it all on the floor at the Universal Dance Association (UDA) National Championships, leaving no doubt as they performed their final routine of the season. Their stand-out hip-hop performance charged forward through finals to take home first place, crowning the team as Division I National Champions in the Large Varsity Hip-Hop division for the first time in program history.
The UDA National Championship is the most prestigious competition at the high school level, bringing the best teams from across the United States to compete for a national title in Orlando, Florida. The UDA not only hosts the largest high school and collegiate dance competitions of the year, but also supports and fosters dancers across the country through summer camps and year-round clinics. From February 6 until February 8, talented groups of dancers from across the nation gathered at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex to showcase their hard work and compete for national recognition. The competition is structured into preliminaries, semi-finals, and finals, with 12 teams competing in the final round for the championship title.
On Feb. 7, 2026, senior captain Ellery Weber took the stage for her fourth and final UDA Na-
tionals performance in Orlando, Florida.
MHS senior Ellery Weber, one of the team captains this year, understands the elite competition that comes with performing at a high level and the talent it takes to beat them. As a four-year member of the team, Weber recognizes how far the team has grown to become national champions.
“Some of the teams that we compete against have multiple national titles,” Weber said. “Being able to beat them is such a surreal experience. Going into finals, we knew that something really simple could happen, and that could be the difference between winning and not winning.”
This season, the Comets put out strong performances, winning the Greater Miami Conference and the Seton Invitational. Weber said that these wins allowed them to build confidence in preparation for their Nationals performances. However, for them, the hard work and discipline begin in August when the choreography is created at the beginning of the season. Weber said that almost every day afterwards goes to refining and reworking elements of the dance to be able to put out the best possible product for finals, and to top performances from previous years.
“Going from not placing [in finals] my freshman year to winning a national title my senior year means so much [to me],” Weber said. “It [feels like] all of the work that we have put in the past four years [is being] recognized.”
Along with their immense success, the road to Nationals has come with challenges, including injuries, for the team. The group of dancers has had to adapt and step up into new roles and face the setbacks that arose. Senior captain Miki Useche has been a vocal leader on the team, guiding many of the newcomers who have entered the group this year. After being sidelined due to an injury to her fibula early in the season, Useche returned to the floor only eight days before their big Nationals performance.
“I worked so hard to get on this team,” Useche said. “My freshman year, I didn’t make the team, which made me work so much harder. I finally made it my sophomore year, and now I’m the captain my senior year, and I’m so grateful to be a part of it, I don’t think I could have been happy if I didn’t take that risk [to dance at Nationals].”
Through this season, Useche has learned to stay positive and show up in every way she can for the team. Coming back only days before the competition, Useche relied on the team’s support to be able to put out the best for her final performance.
“Nationals was the end goal,” Useche said. “I had been working so hard, with physical therapy and the whole recovery process, to be ready, and I am so grateful that I got to perform with my team and step into the castle one last time.”
The white jackets and gold medals have been in the team’s sight for years and have been the textbook ending of head coach Christina Huetter’s final season before she retires from high school dance. The Comets have achieved close placings in finals in recent years. In 2025, came in with 8th place in the Large Varsity Hip-Hop division. In 2024, they had an impressive placing, coming in 5th place in the same division. After ten years of leading the MHS varsity dance team, Heutter said that this was the year it all came together.
(Left to right) Junior Tighe Albers, senior Joss Bumiller and senior Miki Useche create a ripple effect during their hip-hop routine, choreographed by Kenzie Sherry and Alicia Slouffman.
“This year it clicked,” Huetter said. “The team was super close and connected, and this particular routine really fit the dancers that were on my current team, their style and their strengths. Everybody jived with what our theme was [and] what we were trying to execute.”
For the team, this victory is years of dedication and commitment. The friendship off the stage was what had allowed them to be connected while performing, allowing them to come out on top for the long-awaited win. As Huetter acclaimed the effort that the 22 dancers put forth this year, she recognized the alumni who have paved the way for this title and have left an impact on this program.
“Every dancer [in this program] over these last 10 years has made an impact in multiple ways,” Huetter said. “I understand the world a little bit differently because of each one of them, and having it all come to this monumental moment has been a fairytale.”
This win will go down in Mason history, setting the stage for future Comets and fueling momentum for the program. As her career at Mason comes to an end, Heutter recognized the significance of national recognition for this growing team and what it means for its future.
“I hope the program continues to grow and that our name is going to be out there in the dance world even more,” Huetter said. “In the future, people [will] look back at these years and realize this [was] a pivotal point for this program. Later in life, when I hear that they have won another national or state title, it will bring me joy knowing that the legacy continued.”
