Greenie Gonzales 
Coaches: Stevi Barrilleaux, Bailee Foncree, Allie Richard
Dancers: Molly Kilgore- Captain, Mia Zarazua-Dover – Co-Captain Abigail Barleycorn- Lt. Capt. Lacie Gulino – Lt. Capt. Cydnei Briggs, Ka’Dyn Duhe, Ja’nae Wilson, Jaycee Carter, Kailey Melancon
Emmaly Pastorchik, London Kelley, Ava Zarazua-Dover, Kensley Kling, Braylie Babin, Emme Leblanc
The East Ascension High School Spartanette Dance Team has once again earned national recognition, winning American All Star U.S. Drill & Dance Team’s Sweepstakes National Championship in Orlando, Florida on March 6, 2026. The victory marks the team’s second national title in 3 years, solidifying the program’s reputation as one of the premier dance teams in Ascension Parish and the greater Baton Rouge area.
The team will be recognized for its achievements during the April 13 meeting of the City Council.
The Spartanettes competed in several categories, with 3 team numbers and 4 solos. They were awarded National Champions in both the Pom and Hip Hop categories, and received 2nd in Jazz. The Sweepstakes National champion is determined by taking each team’s top 2 highest scores. Their solos won both 1st place (Kensley Kling) and 2nd place (Capt. Molly Kilgore).
The team consists of 15 dancers at East Ascension High School in Gonzales, Louisiana. The team is led by Coaches Stevi Barrilleaux, Bailee Foncree & Allie Richard. The team practices after school several days a week while maintaining strong academic performance & representing the school at community events during the year. They also perform with the entire team at football games on Fridays during football season.
On winning the national championship, Captain & Senior Molly Kilgore says, “Winning the American All Star Sweepstakes Champion National Title with my team has been one of my greatest accomplishments. I’m so grateful that I have had the opportunity to represent East Ascension and show other teams our passion, culture, talent, and spirit through dance. There are limited resources for public school dance teams, and many times we found ourselves practicing in cafeterias and hallways. But, no matter the circumstance, we always found a way to work it out. The dedication from our girls and their drive to succeed has inspired me incredibly. I am so proud of every person on this team and couldn’t have asked for a better season”. Co-Captain and senior Mia Zarazua-Dover also says “To me, winning nationals has instilled in me the confidence and love that I’ve had for this team and our work ethic the past four years. It has shown the impact that hard work and perseverance can have on a group of people and I’ve never been more proud of myself or a group of people until now”.
After making the Spartanette Dance Team, there were separate tryouts for the competition team. They spent an entire weekend in August learning choreography, plus multiple other after school practices to complete it. They then began after school practices weekly at first, outside of performing on Friday Nights for Spartan football games. After football season ended, their practices became multiple times a week for Dance Team Union competition and American All Star State Competition in January in Lafayette. All of this while managing college level academics for most of them, some with jobs and others with obligations also at their private dance studios.
