Spartan Mambo won the Collegiate Salsa Weekender championship for the second year in a row, becoming the first team in the competition’s history to win back-to-back titles!

The victory is Spartan Mambo’s third championship overall, more than any other team in the history of the competition.

This year’s event was the largest collegiate salsa competition since the pandemic, bringing together teams from across Northern and Southern California, including UC Berkeley, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Long Beach State, CSUN, USC, and others.

USC finished in second place after defeating Spartan Mambo two weeks earlier at the Royal Latin Dance Cup, while UC Berkeley took third. Our dancers responded by practicing nearly every day, continuing to refine the routine, and delivering their strongest performance when it mattered most.

Representing Spartan Mambo were Jesus Jimenez, Isa Landeros, Piero Miranda, Alexis Ng, Raymond Hewett, and Carolina Sandoval-Bardo, and we are incredibly proud of how much they have grown as dancers, performers, and teammates throughout the season.

A huge thank-you to our coaches and captains Dipanwita Ray, Liam Thompson, and Kimberly Lopez for supporting the team throughout the semester, and to Amanda Marquez, Miguel Zagal, and Helen Vazquez for their coaching and feedback.

Congratulations to our 2026 collegiate salsa champions!

Next up: Las Vegas Super Congress!