Valley Independent Sentinel

Valley Cheerleaders Step It Up

by Eliot Schickler | Mar 15, 2010 10:29 pm

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Posted to: Ansonia, Derby, Oxford, Seymour, Shelton, Sports

Four Valley cheerleading teams qualified for next Saturday’s New England Championships in Rhode Island after some gutsy performances last weekend.

Seymour won the Class M title Saturday night with 167.5 points, while Oxford won its second straight Class S title with 159 points Friday.

Seymour

Seymour won its first-ever state title and were followed by St. Joseph (161) and Nonnewaug (150) in the 22-team field.

The Wildcats showed grit in winning the title. During their first performance, senior tri-captain Tanya Ralph fell and suffered a serious ankle injury.

Seymour had to compete again from scratch after the other teams but had to do it without one of its top performers, who deftly performs a kick double big trick.

“We had to figure out how to go on without her and we ended up winning,” Wildcats assistant coach Stephanie Ciccone said. “I brought the squad together and I told them we can do it. I then went from section to section and I fixed what I could.”

Seymour senior captain Carleigh Crowder said, “I was shocked. I didn’t expect it. We pulled together as a team.”

Freshman Morgan Scinto volunteered to fill in and she successfully executed the kick single while sophomore Alex Larevra stuck the diagonal in the captain’s place.

“She [Scinto] said ‘I’ll do it,’ we configured everything and it worked out,” Ciccone said. “We have talent across the board.”

In addition to Ralph, senior tri-captain Jessica Lasto and juniors Rebecca Graham and Tiffany Cano were All-Staters. Also cheering for the Wildcats are Paige Morosko, Sam Cerretani, Missy Boneski and Morgan Sekellick, juniors Devan LaBaire, Demi Gonzalez and Caitlin Krauchick, sophomores Karin Gittings, Casey Hayden, Nicole Stoll, Taylor Loretti, Laren Massari, Angela Caputo, Alisha Cusano and Allyson Satkowski and freshman Morgan Scinto and Taylor Rowlands. Ashley Scharn is the head coach, Katie Dombrowski is an assistant and Christina Wildman is the choreographer.

“If we pull together as a team, we can place high at New Englands,” Crowder said. “We’ve pulled together in the past and I’m confident we can do it again.”

Ansonia, Derby

Derby (158) took second in Class S by a one-point margin for the second straight year and after not placing for two straight years, the Ansonia (146) cheerleading squad is back and took third in the 18-team Class S field.

“I’m very excited and I’m very proud of what they did on the floor,” Chargers coach Megan Riley, who just completed her first full year at the helm, said.

Ansonia executed its heal stretches and basket tosses well. The Chargers danced well to the song, “Funkytown.”

“Their showmanship was beyond what I expected from them,” Rowley said. “What’s important about this is that we recently dropped off the map but I expect them to be back in years to come.”

Ansonia senior co-captain Jennie Ripchie said, “We were hoping for a higher place but I’m proud of the team. We worked hard and gave 110 percent in practice.”

Chargers senior captain Lindsie Nighill said, “I was actually very pleased with the team because we were solid. It was the most difficulty we had in our routine in awhile. It’s a good way to end the season.”

The squad credits Rowley for its restoring previous glory and hopes to do well at New Englands.

“Megan is very good for us and is a positive force,” Nighill said. “I think we’ll do well if we perform like we did at Class S.”

Ripchie earned All-State honors.

“It feels good because I worked hard all four years,” Ripchie said. “I made sure I hit everything and once I go on the floor, my nerves go away.”

Junior Colleen Kiley also made the All-State team.

“I feel honored to be recognized for it,” Kiley said. “I practiced a long time and I gave it 110 percent. I did what I needed to do in practice to prepare myself so I’d be comfortable in front of the crowd. I believed in myself.”

Also cheering for Ansonia are seniors Ciara Thomson and Elise Pittman, juniors Taylor Maynard, Candace Cole, Amanda Sember, Jasmine Schochmann, Trisha Demby and Emily Butler, sophomores Kelley Jeamepte and Tashea Martin and freshmen Desiree Vawisva, Cara Kiley, Rita Gavin, Krystina Estille, Jessica Johnson and Ashley DiGennaro.

Shelton

Shelton (158) placed fourth at Class LL on Saturday morning, beating out fifth-place Greenwich (155) in the 19-team field, but it fell short of qualifying for New Englands. East Hartford (167.5) won, Danbury (166) took second and Fairfield Ludlowe (165.5) was third to earn trips to New Englands.

“We were all very happy with our performance, it was practically a perfect performance,” Shelton coach Lynn Giordano said. “We would have liked to have finished in the top three but we went early and the judges were wowed by three other teams that went later in the day.

In fact, the Gaelettes went first. Despite missing New Englands, Shelton is pleased with its year, which included its winning the SCC championships. Overall, the Gaels entered six competitions, three as a coed team and won four

Senior tri-captains Kara Brighindi, Brianna McCormack and Lauren Tregger and classmate Antonietta Siconolfi and junior Danielle Swanson were All-Staters. Shelton seniors Allison Cavallaro and Janine Savoie were All-SCC. Also cheering for the Gaels were juniors Carly Hodosi, Amber Kennedy, Heather Manion, Lindsay Mehaylo and Cassandra Rubio, sophomores Nicole Cavuoto, Devin Dufour, Paige Heady, Ashlee Kalagian, Nicole Matto and Corey Rega and freshman Briana Quintiliano, Rebeka Osuna, Lauren Shearer, Jessica Bumbala, Jessica Mehaylo, Alexandra Soltis and Nicholas Markus.

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