Sports

Hillers Cheer Moves on to Fall Regionals for the First Time in Four Years

Emma DiNicola, Staff Reporter|November 11, 2022

The Hillers cheerleaders take the mat at the TVL competition. Hopkinton competes in the TVL alongside 11 other towns. “Cheerleading is a sport unlike any other. These athletes work hard all season and ultimately, it can come down to two minutes and 30 seconds on the mat,” Head Coach Lauren Delleo said.

The Hillers cheer team will advance to the regional cheerleading competition on Saturday, November 12th following their performance at the Tri-Valley League competition on Saturday, October 29th.

“Cheerleading is a sport unlike any other. These athletes work hard all season and ultimately, it can come down to two minutes and 30 seconds on the mat,” head coach Lauren Delleo said.

At Bellingham High School during the Tri-Valley League competition, the Hillers gave their best performance of the season thus far, earning 4th place and securing themselves a spot at the MetroWest Regional Cheerleading Competition.

For cheerleading, there are very specific rules regarding regional, state, and national competition qualifications. Junior Charlotte Goodman has been on the team for three years now, but this upcoming competition will be her first fall regionals.

“We had to score a 65 to move on to regionals on the 12th and we ended up scoring a 66.5. The last time we went to regionals other than winter season of last year was four and a half years ago,” Goodman said.

Photo: Hillers Cheer and Coaches Celebrate With their 2nd Place Trophy — The Hillers pose with their 2nd place trophy at the Franklin Invitation Competition on October 22nd. The Hillers competed against 2 other teams in the D2 division. “I’m so proud of the girls’ performance today, they did so good,” Assistant cheer manager Presley Schuler said. (Photo by Emma DiNicola)

A team can also qualify for regionals by placing in the top three of their league. The girls have been fighting for a regional spot all season with their coach.

“The Hiller’s set a goal for themselves early on this season – to qualify for regionals. Not only did they make that goal, but they had a lot of fun along the way, which included placing second at the Franklin Invitational Competition [on the 22nd],” Delleo said.

Some Hopkinton students volunteered to help run the TVL competition in Bellingham. One of them was Hannah Garesché, a former All-Star cheerleader and junior at HHS.

“As a Hiller myself, I was very proud of the hardworking girls on the team,” said Garesché.” Watching them compete knowing behind the scenes they were nervous, they went onto the mat and fought for their stunts and really did their best performance of the season.”

Photo: Hillers Cheerleader Encourage the Defense — The Hillers cheer on the football team against Westwood on Friday the 21st. The cheerleaders performed their routine at halftime, and the football team sealed the deal with a 27-21 win on the road. “The boys played good tonight, go Hillers,” cheerleader Ella Nel said. (Photo by Emma DiNicola)

The Hillers cheered on the football team against Westwood on Friday the 21st. The cheerleaders performed their routine at halftime, and the football team sealed the deal with a 27-21 win on the road. “The boys played good tonight, go Hillers,” cheerleader Ella Nel said.

Photo: Katie Dellacioppa Flies a Basket — Freshman Katie Dellacioppa flies high in a star basket on the Westborough sideline. This is Katie’s first year on the high school team but her third year as a flyer (the girl that is thrown into the air). “I love baskets,” said Dellacioppa, “They’re a little scary, but mostly fun” (Photo by Emma DiNicola).

Both the coaches, Head Coach Lauren Delleo and Assistant Coach Rachel DeMore, and the team are mostly new this fall season. Despite this, the Hillers have had a very successful season so far.

“They still have a way to go but considering more than half the team had little to no experience coming into tryouts just a few short months ago, Coach Rachel and I could not be more proud of them,” Delleo said.

In cheerleading, when you perform each and every skill in your routine exactly the way it is supposed to be executed, it is referred to as “hitting your routine.” It’s the ultimate goal of every performance.

“We also hit our routine which everyone was super proud of and super happy for ourselves. Everyone was just so excited. It was the first time we hit this season,” Goodman said.