Norton Lady Junior Lancers 10U, 12U cheerleaders headed to Nationals

NORTON — There's more than just the holiday kind of cheer worth celebrating in Norton this year.

Both the Norton Youth Football and Cheer Lady Junior Lancers 10U and 12U cheerleading squads were crowned New England Champions last month at the 2021 New England Regional Cheer Championships in Bridgeport, Conn., and will be heading to Kissimmee, Fla. next week to compete in the American Youth Football and Cheer National Championships.

Additionally, three Lady Junior Lancer cheerleaders, Reilly Kelleher, who is already travelling as part of the 12U squad, and Abby Edgehille and Reilly Hoffman of the 14U squad, were named Elite Cheer All Stars and will be representing Eastern Massachusetts American Youth Cheer as they vie for the national title.

This marks the third time in the program's six year existence that the 12U Lady Junior Lancers claimed the New England crown, with last season having been cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The age group finished as runners-up in 2019 and head coach Stephanie Langton said it's made them all the more determined to claim the top prize this time around.

"After sweeping through Eastern Massachusetts, States and New England as champions, these ladies knew that they needed to hit everything to ensure that they had a chance to win a national title and when we were announced as the second-best squad in the country you knew by the looks on their faces that they weren’t going to allow another opportunity like this to pass them by," Langton said. "Many of them started working so much on their skills in the offseason and after everything that happened in 2020… their focus was all in on 2021."

The squad received their highest score ever as a group at the New England Championship as they claimed the top spot in the Division 12 Large, Level I category, leaving feeling confident going to nationals.

"We as coaches couldn’t be prouder of them and all that they have accomplished," Langton said. "This season brought us a mix of brand-new cheerleaders and a great group of veterans. That shows me that our program is developing and growing… we have girls who never cheered before that want to give it a shot become amazing contributors to this squad and a group of veterans who keep this squad together and welcome our new cheerleaders and with that chemistry, it leads us to be in the position that we are in today."

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In addition to Kelleher, the 12U squad is made up of Madison Applebee, Destiny Bolton, Caitlin Bennett, Madelyne Black, Emilee Cabral, Lauren Chancey, Janiyah Crowe, Allison Durning, Victoria Durning, Julianna Freeman, Jamie Harlow, Amanda Ingersoll, Arianna Josephs, Meghan Kearsley, Kyla Langton, Gabby Rodriguez, Cailyn Rosa, Alexandria Sroka and Addison Wilbur. Langton is joined on the coaching staff by assistants Caitlin Spector, Holli Fitzgerald, Allison Chancey, Kelly Kelleher and Melissa Cabra.

For the 10U squad, they are heading to their first time at nationals in their first year as a competitive cheer squad, with head coach Melanie Massouda applauding how far her team has come in such a short time.

"At the beginning of the season, we were coming back to cheer after being out since 2019 due to COVID and we had no idea how things would go," Massouda said. "They have come so far since then. They met some new friends, gained new skills, got a whole lot of confidence, and were filled with pride. Our coaches and parents every single day were amazed to see what they could do."

The team began their season taking the Grand Champion title in the Eastern Massachusetts Cheer Competition, which they followed up later with a second-place finish in the Massachusetts State Championship, something which Massouda said her squad has used as motivation to grow.

"Our squad is full of energy and very spirited," Massouda said. "They are very hard working and they put a lot of effort into their routine. It helps that this team supports one another and is a family and they get along so well and are ready to work and do what it takes to become national champions."

Of particular note this season were Kelleher, Edgehille and Hoffman who were all named Elite Cheer All Stars and earned a spot on the Eastern Massachusetts American Youth Cheer squad.

"Reilly, Abby and Reilly have all been with us for many years, some of them since the beginning of our organization and to have the three of them representing our town on the national stage is an honor that is well deserved by all of them," Langton said. "To see what they have grown into as incredible athletes and great students and leaders is something that we are all very proud of."

Over the past month, the squads and Norton Youth Football and Cheer as a whole embarked on fundraising drives to raise money to send all of the girls to the Sunshine State, with both coaches saying the drive was very successful and coming from not just around town, but throughout New England and as far away as Canada, and thanked all for their generosity.

"We just wanted to thank our town of Norton for being incredibly supportive to these cheerleaders," Langton said. "They will represent you with pride and class and we hope to bring forth multiple national championships back here to Norton."

The squads will be holding a Pep Rally/Send Off on Monday at 6 p.m. in the Henri A. Yelle Elementary School Gym with all in the community welcomed to cheer on the girls before they head down to Florida.

Taunton Daily Gazette sports reporter Cameron Merritt can be reached at cmerritt@tauntongazette.com. You can follow him on Twitter at @CamMerritt_News. Support local journalism by purchasing a digital or print subscription to the Taunton Daily Gazette today.

This article originally appeared on The Taunton Daily Gazette: Norton Lady Junior Lancers 10U, 12U cheerleaders headed to Nationals