Monomoy Cheer Reaches New Englands For First Time Ever

HARWICH – The Monomoy cheerleading team has reached new heights this year, and that’s not referring to the distances of their airborne stunts.

 For the first time ever, the team advanced to the 18th Annual New England Interscholastic Spirit Championship (known as the New Englands), and they also earned a bid (essentially a qualification or invite to a national competition), which was similarly a first for the program.

 The Sharks utilized and built upon a difficult but high-scoring routine to rack up top placements all season, reaching states for the second year in a row (and third time ever). 

 “We knew that we were going to score high, but we didn't know how high we were going to score,” senior Grace Morgan said. “So finding out our first [competition] that we got an 80, we were like, ‘OK, this is crazy. This season is going to be so good.’ And it was. It was very good. It was our best season yet.”

 The year began for Monomoy in early February with a second-place finish — and their highest score to date — at the Ram Rumble hosted by LaSalle Academy in Rhode Island. A week later, the team captured first place at the Cupid Classic, winning the Cape and Islands League for the second season in a row and the second time in program history. 

 On March 1, the team advanced to states by placing third in Division 4 at regionals. And at states, the Sharks placed fourth in Division 4, the program’s highest-ever finish.

 The team has been growing each year, head coach Robbin Kelley said, and their stunting is up with the best teams in the state. It was all just about getting the whole package together — the stunting, jumping, tumbling, and dancing, plus selling the entire routine. It came together at states.

 “The judge actually wrote on their paper, ‘This is a wicked good dance,’” Kelley said. “‘The music and the emotions went together perfectly, and you guys really sold it,’ which is hard because at the end of the routine, they've already been throwing each other around, jumping and tumbling, and then to have to pull off a really intricate dance and sell it and smile and really pull through, it's extremely difficult. And at states, they really came through on that. That was probably what moved them on to New Englands.”

 A ton of work has gone into Monomoy’s highly successful season. Sometimes the team practiced six times a week with a competition on the seventh day, only to come back Monday for another two-hour practice. Also, they had to drive off-Cape, a trip of more than an hour, just to find a place to tumble (the moves like flips and handsprings performed on the floor).

 “It can be rough, but we want it, so we dedicate all of our time to it,” Morgan said.

 Monomoy additionally faced, but brushed off, their fair share of obstacles in injuries and illnesses. Absences are particularly tough in cheer because a stunt group of four or five girls, according to Kelley, can’t practice when one member is out. And Monomoy’s routine this year was the hardest they had ever done, according to Morgan.

 “It's so hard on your body, especially if you're coming over an injury or sickness or anything,” Morgan said. “it's just so hard, and it's nonstop. You don't get a break. You really don't, so it's rough.”

 In addition to Morgan (the team’s sole senior and captain), the cheerleaders that have powered the Sharks to what is surely the best season in the program’s history are sophomores Kendall Bresciani and Madison Dale, juniors A’olani Hill, Hokuli’ili’I Hill, Madilyn Horigan, Hayden Sweeney, Madison Whitcomb and Laura Zacharias, and freshman Gracelyn Mecca. Senior Giovanna Tileston is the team’s alternate and does the group’s music. In addition to Kelley, Tammy Burke and Hannah Morgan (a Monomoy class of 2025 graduate) serve as assistant coaches.

 New Englands were Saturday, March 21 at Worcester State University. The hope, according to Kelley, was to get into the top three.

 “I think that's a reasonable expectation for the way they've been scoring all season,” she said.