Winter Athlete of the Season – Catherine Stuckert, dance team

The Rune congratulates our senior athlete of the season, nominated by the Rune staff and chosen by popular vote from the student body, Catherine Stuckert, Dance team co-captain.

This season, Catherine and her squad placed 11th in Hip-Hop and 12th in Jazz at nationals. “[At] Nationals”, Stuckert explains, “there are 4 stages and 3 rounds for each routine consisting of preliminaries, semi-finals, and finals.” The team made it all the way to finals in Hip-Hop and Jazz, Stuckert’s favorite category. “[Jazz] encompass my style of movement and is what I believe to be the most fun.” she added. “Nationals is one of the best experiences I have ever endured.” Stuckert is pleased with the team’s finish saying “We have come so far this year and I couldn’t be prouder to make it to Finals for the first time since 2009 with both routines.”

In addition to dancing for the Valkyries dance squad, Stuckert also dances for the Vision All Stars, a competitive club team, in senior Jazz, P.O.M., and HipHop. “These teams tend to be more competitive than Sacred Heart,” Stuckert explains, “they give me the opportunity to dance with talented girls from other schools.” The team placed 2nd at nationals this year, and have qualified to compete at the World Dance Competition on April 24-28. “We practice all day, every day and are hoping to earn the gold medal this year!” Stuckert aspires.

As for the future, Stuckert plans to attend the University of Kentucky, her favorite school. “I have grown up bleeding blue and I couldn’t imagine myself going anywhere else”. Stuckert does not plan to dance for the University’s team, due to the fact that their focus is on Hip Hop, however, she plans to dance for fun at a nearby dance studio.

“Catherine is a great leader, and we were so lucky to have her as an example on our team” raved Valeria Lopez, a fellow senior dance team member. “She was always the one pushing us. She always had the absolute best spirit to keep us going, even when we were exhausted and wanted to quit. She kept us pumped and was a big part of helping us meet our goal!”

The Rune wants to wish Catherine the best of luck in the future, and thanks her for four years of hard work at SHA!