The margin of victory was small, but it came as no surprise that the Pinkerton Academy Lady Astros continued to pile up the titles at the 2015 New Hampshire Interscholastic Athletic Association Spirit Championships in the Derry academy’s Hackler Gymnasium Sunday, Nov. 8.
The Dover High Green Wave contingent has been working diligently for years to make gains on the PA juggernaut, but the academy side was still able to win by a tiny three-tenths of one point, again leaving Dover to the runner-up hardware. The host academy team tallied a score of 103, with Dover right behind with a 102.7. Concord was a distant third with an 88.8.
During last year’s competition the Dover squad lost by a 3.4 point margin.
Under coach Michelle McCarty, the Lady Astros have been a title-winning machine for many years, and their continued success in Sunday’s 15-team Division I competition maintained the local crew’s status as the standard-bearer for spirit contingents in New Hampshire.
The championship gave the Pinkerton bunch its sixth fall title in a row, its seventh undefeated year when one counts the fall and winter campaigns, and the Lady Astros’ seventh fall crown since 2008. The program has now won 21 total crowns.
“We executed the most difficult routine of the tournament, which helped to secure the win,” said McCarty. “Although there were a few errors throughout the performance, the girls never wavered in energy or determination. The team never gave up and continued fighting right to the end.”
The victorious PA crew included senior captains Emily Dellisola, Madison Garnick, and Taylor Sullivan, and their fellow 12th graders Meghan Decosmo, Kendra Hicks, Valerie Quigley, and Katiya Troutman.
The juniors on the title-winning team were Alyssa Daigle, Madison Francis, Aurora Goujon, Cameron LaRoche, Jillian Parnigoni, Hannah Rogers, Gemma Schena, Camryn Teresky, and Victoria Williams, and the sophomores included Dusty Anderson, Kailey Kirker, and Anastasia Tunberg.
The championship crew also included five freshmen: Ariana Boudreau, Kristen Bukunt, Allison Connell, Jacie Harlow, and Kaycie Rizzo.
McCarty was assisted by Carol Quarles, Kristina Toney, and Jim Robidoux.
The Pinkerton fall spirit squad enjoys victories fall after fall, but the Lady Astros’ winter contingent has an even longer championship run rolling.
The Pinkerton winter spirit squads have won every NHIAA large division championship available except for one since 2003, which adds up to 11 crowns.
