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3 men make history as first males to be on Panthers’ Top Cats dance team final roster

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — If there’s anyone that knows how difficult tryouts for the Top Cats are, it’s 5-year veteran Annalise Coleman. The grueling audition cuts hundreds of dancers to the final roster, 30 of the best dancers in the Carolinas.

“There is so much talent that walks into the room when we have auditions and it’s amazing to see and you never know who’s going to make the team,” she said.

For 25 years, that roster has been compromised entirely of women, but that changed this season with the addition of three trailblazing performers.

It’s not the first year tryouts were open to men, but it’s the first year any man has made the cut. Melvin Sutton, Tre Booker Medley and Chris Crawford made history when they performed for the first time Sunday at Bank of America Stadium.

“We kind of set the tone for the next set of guys to come in and just be great,” Sutton said.

>> In the video at the top of the page, we hear from Sutton, Medley and Crawford.

(Watch Below: Panthers receiver Brandon Zylstra awards scholarship to 2 high school students)