It didn’t take long for Suzanne Schule’s dance team at Canyon Lake High to make its mark on the area competition scene.

In its first-ever meet, the CLHS Emerald Dancers left the HTE Texas State Dance Team Competition held earlier this month at New Braunfels High with two trophies.

The Emerald Dancers captured first place in the “team prop” category in the small varsity division, and also won a trophy for “outstanding overall projection.”

The team, which, like the entire Canyon Lake High School, is made up of sophomores and freshmen, is proud they are helping to put CLHS on the map.

“I don’t think people really knew who we were,” freshman Kira Lowery said. “They just knew there was a new school out by the lake. I think we got people to start noticing us.”

Sophomore Samantha Palermo said the team even surprised itself.

“We were kind of in shock,” Palermo said. “We didn’t really know what to expect because it was our first competition. It was an awesome feeling.”

Schule said it’s rewarding to watch her dance team do well because of all the effort they put into practicing for the event.

“They all worked so hard, and to see them receive the trophies was so exciting,” Schule said. “There were more than 1,500 people and many different schools competing at the event, so I didn’t know what to expect. They really did our school proud and we hope it’s the start of great things to come.”