With junior varsity coach Chelsea Dennis having taken over for veteran mentor Becki Barden in the leadership role of the Londonderry High varsity spirit squad this fall, the Lady Lancer cheerleaders have another experienced coach who knows their skills and personalities well.
And Dennis is more than a little excited about what her LHS contingent can present in performance this autumn.
“We’re expecting a strong year,” she said. “We have many returnees with strengthened skills, which will make us more seasoned and experienced on the competition floor.”
The Lady Lancers finished in ninth place out of 16 squads at the state meet last year, and Dennis thinks that her 2016 crew’s keys continue to be “maintaining a positive attitude, perfecting our ability to work as a team, and accountability.”
The team’;s returnees include Jessica Brien (a junior), Marissa Ciano (senior), Meghan Evangelista (junior), Katherine Host (junior), Kathryn Hughes (sophomore), Erin Kelly (junior), Victoria Kelly (junior), Katelyn Leger (sophomore), Kaylie Longua (junior), Hannah Martin (junior), Rachael Martinez (senior), Kelly McEachern (senior), Taylor Mellinger (junior), Ally Morris (senior), Allison Rose (junior), and Cassandra Stuart (junior).
“We also have a talented new addition to the varsity team in freshman Emma Gehris. And in addition to our strong varsity athletes we are loaded with new and growing talent on our JV team,” said Dennis.
The new varsity mentor is also plenty excited about the new additions to the coaching staff in the persons of Kelsey Maybury and Nicole Otis.
“We have hit the ground running, and are looking forward to impressing the judges with our improvements and bringing lots of fans out to root for us this year. Our competition dates are Capital City (in Concord) on Oct. 30, varsity states on Nov. 6, and JV states on Nov. 12,” said Dennis.
The Londonderry High spirit program has a new leader in coach Chelsea Dennis, who moved up from the JV program.
Photo by Chris Paul