By Staff Writer Jena Fakroddin
Produced by Mila Koleva & Jakob Wastek

“I’m so happy. Literally, I could cry right now. I’m shaking- I am just so pumped,” said senior Lyndsey Field.

Field, a proud member of Challenge Accepted, struggled to catch her breath after placing second in the 2014 Airband competition.

“We have been practicing for so long; it was time to just go out there and perform it. The energy of the gym was so incredible that we forgot what we were worrying about. It was easier just to have fun,” Field said.

Challenge Accepted struggled to nail their main flip in practice, but once they hit the stage all the negative energy was gone. They were able to successfully stick it.

Though the competition was tough, each team brought their best and left it all on the stage. Airband, which took place on Thursday night, March 13, featured 12 bands with six to 12 members each.

The Last Airbanders came in first, Challenge Accepted in second, and Set the Mood in third.

The Last Airbanders won the judges’ and audience members’ respect and admiration with their break dancing, tumbling, and karate skills. These moves enriched their performance and made them stand out from the rest.

“Each group performed really well, and we didn’t think we were going to place. We were all pretty hyped and nervous at the same time,” said senior Nick Martinez. “Once they called our name, we didn’t know what to think.”

Set the Mood was determined to perform a polished routine, showcasing each of their individual and diverse talents. Even though their final performance demanded a lot of planning, they were able to successfully combine ideas and create a performance that made each of them proud.

“We sat down for a month and a half and just brainstormed,” said senior Cameron Snyders. “We kept going and going, building off of eachother’s ideas. We really transformed our performance as we only kept two of our original ideas.”

Set the Mood found scheduling to be the most challenging aspect of Airband.

“When we did get together, there were times when we didn’t get anything done because we were all just messing around and having wrestling tournaments,” Snyders said. “In the end, we were able to pull it together and still give the best performance ever.”

The time and effort that went into creating these six-minute performances truly paid off for each of these top three teams. If you didn’t get a chance to experience the show, go to www.youtube.com and search for any 2014 Airband performance.