Cheerleaders Place 5th in State Final

Mustangs Earn Record 10th National Bid

Above, the Medford High School cheerleading squad performs during last year’s Thanksgiving game pep rally.

– Lisa Evangelista, Assistant Coach

The Medford Mustang Cheerleaders entered the MSSAA Fall State Cheerleading State Final as a top five favorite to take home the title. However, it was not to be for the defending Fall State Champs.

“It is so hard to defend, as Division II has to have the toughest competition, but this team went out there and gave it their all,” said Head Coach Julie Santos.

Whitman Hanson won the title with a score of 174, Westford was 2nd with a 173.5, St. Peter Marian was 3rd with a 172, Reading was 4th with a 171 and Medford was fifth with a 169. To earn a Nationals bid, a team must score a 160 points or better. Medford has brought home that honor for the past 5 years.

“With only 6 points separating 1st and 5th, you realize how tight the competition was. I give my team so much credit. They had so many obstacles to overcome, the loss of a very talented senior class, injuries and girls quitting the team mid season. Nothing could stop them from doing their very best out there. They made us very proud,” said Santos.

Last week, at the North Regional competition, the Mustangs placed third, but were dropped to fourth because of a penalty.

“One of the girl’s lost her bow during the performance, and for safety reasons, unless it is moved off the mat, the team is penalized 4 points which dropped us to fourth overall,” said Santos.

Dracut won the Regional with Westford 2nd and Reading 3rd. Two weeks ago, the Mustangs won the Greater Boston League title held at Everett High School with a score of 181.

“In cheerleading, it all comes down to points. You must enter your league and attain enough points to move onto the Regional and then hopefully attain enough points to move onto the State Final. I am proud to say that these past 4 years, Medford has always made it to the State Final,” said Santos.

The Mustangs will perform their competition routine at the Thanksgiving Pep Rally on Wednesday at Medford High School, and then cheer the Mustang Football Team onto victory on Thanksgiving Day. Tryouts for basketball cheerleading are Tuesday, December 2nd and Thursday, December 4th from 6-8 PM at Medford High School.

Members of the 2008 Mustangs are: Captain Lisa Cardone, Captain Courtney Galvin, Anne Raimo, Christina Cardone, Lindsey Mills, Darla Vitale, Kristin Moore, Karli Keating, Brianna Walsh, Jessica Medeiros, Jessica Albano, Krysten Sheppard, Kayley Anderson, Breanna Hughes, Veronica Hernandez, Dominique Brogna and Daniella Colozzo. The team is coached by Santos, Melissa Pothier & Lisa Evangelista.