DULUTH - Ask a member of the Duluth Central dance team what it means to be a Trojanette,and the same word keeps coming up.

"To be a Duluth Central Trojanette to me means being part of a family," said Senior captain Whitney Ozan.  "It means I'm part of a family," adds fellow Senior captain Maggie Kucera.  "They're not just my teammates, they're my best friends."

That closeness comes from knowing they can, and need to,depend on one another.

"You're only as good as your weakest dancer in dance," said Kucera.  "We really strive to get everyone up there and we don't concentrate on individual things."
That wasn't always the case.  The Trojanettes have been around for years, but success has only come recently.

"We were not good," said Ozan.  "We were placing fifth at sections and getting fours and fives on our scorecards.  We come back now and we'll get eights and pull out some nines."

Things started to change two and a half years ago, when Jourdan Crane became the team's coach.

"She really pulled us all together and made us a team," says the third Senior captain Michelle Marnich.  "She's like an older sister.  She wants the best for us and is going to help us get there."

"I'm just excited to see dance team as a sport grow in Duluth," said Crane.  "I know all the teams in Duluth just keep getting better and better and better."

With Crane's help, the Trojanettes placed first in kick and second in jazz at last year's conference meet.  This year they improved on that showing, sweeping both first place awards.

"It was something we never expected," said Ozan.  "It was so great to achieve something you didn't expect, that all of us cried, it was the greatest."  "We've worked really hard for it, and we truly deserve it this year," said Marnich.

The fact the Trojanettes may be Central's last conference championship team isn't lost on the girls either.

"I want to leave a legacy with our dance team," said Kucera.  "I don't want to be forgotten."  "Twenty years from now people won't remember my name, but they'll remember the team and what we did," adds Ozan.

This team isn't just making the grade on the dance floor.  The Trojanettes have one of the highest team grade point averages at Central.
"All the dancers on the team are really academically driven," saide Kucera.  "We practice hard, but then we go home and study even harder."  "That's why I think our team is so good," adds Crane.  "We have such a good group of hard–working, goal–oriented girls."

So while soon, there won't be any Central Trojans left, the Trojanettes have made their mark.