Ah, Red and Gold. A time-honored tradition at Rosary Academy. Red and Gold. Wait, Red and Gold. You’re forgetting about one of the most important teams vital to the success of this beloved competition: White Team! This third team, often forgotten, is pertinent to this show, almost making you think it should be called Red, White, Gold. Here’s a behind-the-scenes of what it is like to be on this stellar team!

Back in December, the four (already known) members of White Team, seniors Julissa Gonzalez (social chair), Jade Sandoval (executive treasurer), Keira Sarni (social chair), and Elena Walz (executive president), all journeyed to Disneyland. The core four members were selected to be on White Team as a part of our responsibilities on ASB Leadership. We filmed the announcement of Red and Gold captains that would be announced on the last day of class before first semester finals.

With the announcement of captains and the final two members of White Team (Alex Bohn ‘23 and Evelyn LeVecke ‘22), Red and Gold officially began on campus. Following a captains’ meeting, the now six members of White Team attended team meetings and started planning for Red and Gold kickoff, taking place at the end of January.

We needed to come up with a “One in a Million” way to introduce the theme of Red and Gold and team mascots to the student body. Originally supposed to have Tayshia Adams ‘08 (former Bachelorette) involved in the skit, White Team had to change our plan when Tayshia’s schedule changed. Coming up with an alternative plan, Ms. La Bonte ‘09 stepped up to fill in the role as season 52 Bachelorette.

With kickoff coming to a close, Red and Gold was in full swing, and it was time for White Team to take on their official duties. While the rest of the student body was preparing their shows via dance, choral, publicity, etc., every day at flex time, we were busy working in room eight, taking attendance, filming video for the Saturday night video, writing thank you cards, counting points, etc.

The last two weeks of the six weeks of flex time were certainly the most chaotic for us. White Team needed to memorize all 12 drills/dances, edit the Saturday night video, memorize our lines, and make sure both of the shows were ready for performance weekend. Attending each day-long rehearsal (as White Team attends both Red and Gold teams rehearsals), we watched both shows come together right before their eyes.

Seeing some of our best friends on stage was a very special moment that marked a culmination of the ideas we saw forming two months previously. The excitement was certainly growing for the coming weekend, and with just days before the first performance, we frantically ran our opening lines, compared photos of our black dresses, and basked in the general ambiance of Red and Gold.

When we arrived at the Servite theater early Friday morning, we settled into the Servite faculty lounge and prepared to welcome the rest of the student body. After a quick schoolwide prayer and recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance, we took the stage for arguably the best performance of the whole weekend. The opening music to Emma Vasquez’s ‘23 dance started playing, and the six of us sauntered onto the stage for a compilation of both team’s dances and drills.

The rest of the weekend, we feverishly reapplied makeup, passed out Break-a-Leg grams to Royals, and anxiously tallied points to see if we could guess the winner early. The Saturday night performance was nerve-wracking but not as bad as the moment when Mrs. Huerta ‘94 wrote the winning team on my (Elena Walz) clipboard and corralled us outside to the Servite gym. Facing the entirety of the student body, we announced six commendations and the overall winner amidst screams and cheers from our Royal sisters.

The end of Red and Gold season was a bittersweet moment for all of us. Yes, we were eager to resume a schedule of late starts and early dismissals, but we all now have an emotional attachment to room eight and one another. Roid (Jade Sandoval), Michael B. Jordan (Julissa Gonzalez), Concussed (Evelyn LeVecke), Bohn Bohn (Alex Bohn), Sparky (Keira Sarni), and Ms. Prez (Elena Walz) send all their love! White team, out.