On March 30, the Hopkinton Hiller Cheerleaders held their annual banquet at the Hopkinton Country Club. The team celebrated a year's worth of accomplishments and friendship. In addition to cheering at the Hiller football and basketball games, the cheerleaders compete as a team during the weekends and successfully won a bid to Massachusetts States competition for the third straight year.
Coach Melissa Zwang was grateful for all the support she has received this past year.
"This year could not have been as successful or as much fun if it weren't for the parents letting me work with your very important daughters over the last year," said Zwang. "You have trusted me to make the best decisions for the team and shown nothing but unwavering support of me, your daughter and this team. For that I will be eternally grateful."
However, cheerleading is not all about the pompoms and the back hand springs. Coach Zwang encourages the girls to give back to the community through volunteerism, maintaining high academic standards and sportsmanship.
According to Zwang, a quarter of the team currently holds a present spot in the National Honor Society at Hopkinton High. They also participate in several community service events such as giving back to Golden Pond and Project Just Because.
"Our number one mission is sportsmanship," said Zwang.
Captains Kristen Boissonneault and Alyssa Karpacz were proud of the fact that despite some key injuries, the team was able to bond together and work hard to to try to achieve their goals.
"These is been a really great season, although it did not end the way we wanted it to," said Boissonneault. "The season was filled with fun."
"We had a great performance at states," said Karpacz.
