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Cyan Magenta Yellow Black<br />
6<br />
By Melissa Fili<br />
<strong>MethuenLife</strong> Writer<br />
A squad of 11-, 12- and 13-yearold<br />
cheerleaders from Methuen has<br />
captured the city’s first national championship.<br />
“It was unbelievable,” said Methuen<br />
Pop Warner Junior Midget team coordinator/manager<br />
Lisa Francis. “They<br />
just nailed it!”<br />
The team competed at ESPN’s Wide<br />
World of Sports Complex in Florida on<br />
Dec. 5. The girls earned their spot representing<br />
New England in the Medium<br />
Division by winning titles including a<br />
Merrimack Valley championship, then<br />
taking first place at the regional qualifier<br />
in Springfield.<br />
The 19 girls stuck with the same<br />
winning routine for all of their competitions,<br />
under the direction of head<br />
coach/choreographer Kirstie Hailey. It<br />
included “a lot of tumbling, stunting<br />
and dance, plus their music was so up-<br />
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& 32 More<br />
Varieties<br />
beat and modern,” said Francis. “And<br />
there’s the combination of the amount<br />
of tumbling we have per girl. We use<br />
almost full-team tumbling and we use<br />
every girl in our stunt groups. That<br />
makes the difficulty level up there.”<br />
For some of the girls, <strong>this</strong> was their<br />
third consecutive year competing at<br />
nationals. Thirteen of the girls on <strong>this</strong><br />
season’s team also competed last year.<br />
“We went to Disney three years<br />
ago and got fifth; last year we got first<br />
but lost to a deduction and got second.<br />
This year, they wanted it,” explained<br />
Francis. “They had the highest score in<br />
their division throughout the country. It<br />
was waiting for them, they just had to<br />
go perform.”<br />
That wasn’t easy, with a few team<br />
members sick with a stomach bug. At<br />
the ESPN Complex, coaches had the<br />
girls do only a single practice routine,<br />
concerned about those who were ill.<br />
We Have Been Making Pork Pies for<br />
Almost 100 Years. And They are<br />
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•Sausages-Italian Sweet & Hot •Pork & Tomato<br />
Bangers and more •Kielbasa •Marinated Chicken<br />
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•Essem Hotdogs •Salads to Go<br />
•and Lots More...<br />
Order Corned Beef and Corned Ribs EARLY<br />
for your St. Patrick’s Day Feast<br />
Quality Fresh Meats with Old Fashioned Service<br />
<strong>MethuenLife</strong><br />
January, 2013<br />
Cheerleaders earn city’s 1st national championship<br />
See CHAMPS, Page 7<br />
NATIONAL CHAMPS!<br />
Methuen’s Junior Midget team brought home the 2012 Medium Division<br />
national cheerleading championship last month. They are Emma Altavesta,<br />
Jordan Berry, Madison Cogill, Stefanie Coonradt, Veronica Curtis, Kayla Francis,<br />
Cristina Lucas, Emily McGovern, Hannah Miller, Cassie Palacios, Melissa<br />
Perrault, Chloe Robinson, Brooke Ronan, Nikiya Salois, Deysha Santiago,<br />
Miranda Santiago, Kaitlyn Savary, Carmynn Simpson and Emily Wallace.<br />
Coaches are Kirstie Hailey, Lisa Francis, Shelby Walsh, Madelyn Wallace,<br />
Barbara Walsh, Corey Coonradt, Ryan Dugan and Shannon Berry.<br />
This Methuen Pop Warner Junior Midget cheerleading team was named national medium-level champs<br />
at the Wide World of Sports’ ESPN Center in Florida last month. The team of 11- to 13-year-olds represented<br />
New England’s Medium Division. Courtesy photos
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