One of the surest ways to achieve its goal for a team aspiring to be the best is for it to compete against the very best.
And that’s what coach Becki Barden’s Londonderry High School winter spirit squad got to do when it competed at the New England Spirit Championships at Lawrence (Mass.) High School last Saturday, March 21.
The Lancers have a co-ed contingent due to the presence of lone male Dennis Bishop – who has gained plenty of recognition over the last several years as a running back on the LHS football team – so they competed against the top co-ed squads in the region at the event. And the locals finished eighth out of 15 teams.
The competition was won by the Rutland, Vt., entry, with the Dover High Green Wave from New Hampshire winding up second.
“We had some unusual struggles in the routine that were disappointing, but overall we are very honored and proud that we made it there,” said Barden, who is a product of the Pinkerton Academy spirit juggernaut that regularly piles up titles.
Barden’s Londonderry bunch qualified for the New England competition by finishing third out of eight teams at the New Hampshire Division I spirit championships at Pinkerton in Derry on Sunday, March 15.
The Lancers qualified for the title round of the big event by placing sixth overall in preliminary-round competition at PA a week earlier. And on the big day in the finals, the LHS contingent tallied a team score of 97.9 to finish behind only the Dover Green Wave (103.4) and the host Lady Astros (107.6).
Along with Bishop, the Londonderry High team’s athletes include Becca St. Pierre, Meghan Evangelista, Holly Alix, Jessica Brien, Megan Butler, Corinne Dubois, Erin Kelly, Kelly McEachern, Taylor Mellinger, Ally Morris, Cassie Stuart, Julia Thorpe, Mariah White, and Lauren Zins.