SHS Sachems Winter Sports Roundup

Saugus cheerleading makes statement, wrestling closes strong at states

  By Dom Nicastro

As winter seasons push toward their final chapters, Saugus High School athletes are delivering defining moments.

The cheer team is rewriting its own standards. The wrestling co-op continues to prove it belongs among the state’s best. And across programs, the theme remains consistent: growth, resilience and momentum at the right time of year.

Cheerleading: young team breaks through, wins Division 3

For the first time as Saugus cheerleading head coach, Hannah Phelan and assistant Noelle Loconte took a leap.

Instead of bringing in an outside choreographer, they built the routine themselves.

The result? The highest choreography score Phelan has seen in all her years with the program — as both assistant and head coach.

“We took a chance and choreographed the routine ourselves rather than bringing in an outside choreographer,” Phelan said. “That decision truly paid off — this routine earned the highest choreography score we’ve had in all my years with the program.”

Competing in Division 3 against three other teams last week in West Springfield Winter Wonderland/NEC Qualifier, Saugus won first place by six points.

“What I personally loved most about the performance was the energy the team brought the second they stepped onto the mat,” Phelan said. “They performed with confidence and smiles from start to finish.”

The routine highlighted the team’s strengths in pace and execution, and the improvement was evident across the board.

“The team improved in every single scoring category,” Phelan said. “They truly worked like a well-oiled machine.”

One of the defining moments came immediately.

“One of the most rewarding moments was watching them hit their opening stunt flawlessly during the performance after struggling with it all week and not hitting it during warm-ups,” she said. “When it mattered most, they trusted each other and delivered.”

The victory sends Saugus to Regionals this Sunday — a significant bounce-back after a difficult fall season in which injuries prevented advancement past NEC competition.

“They returned in the winter stronger, more focused, and determined,” Phelan said. “Their hard work paid off.”

Leadership has played a major role, especially from sophomore captain Stephanie Perez.

“We have a very young team this year, and stepping into a captain role at such a young age can be intimidating, but Stephanie has been one of the most reliable captains I’ve ever had,” Phelan said. “She embodies exactly what I look for in both a teammate and a leader.”

The youth movement is part of a larger program resurgence. Participation has jumped from 15 athletes last fall to 35 this year — the largest roster in years — with both varsity and JV levels in place and a competitive team pushing high-level stunting difficulty.

After placing second at NECs last winter and qualifying for Regionals, this year’s group is now chasing something more.

Wrestling: Saugus/Peabody finishes eighth at Division 2 states

The Saugus/Peabody wrestling co-op continued another strong postseason showing with an eighth-place team finish at the Division 2 State Championships — further cementing the program’s place among Massachusetts’ top contenders.

Coming off a historic Division 2 North Sectional championship — the first in either Saugus or Peabody history — the co-op continued to compete deep into brackets at states.

Leading the way was Michael Maraio (Peabody Veterans Memorial High School), who finished fourth.

Cesar Cruz (Saugus High School) placed fifth. Jake Murray (Saugus High School) earned seventh. J.J. Figueroa (Peabody Veterans Memorial High School) placed eighth. Jackson Deleidi (Peabody Veterans Memorial High School) also finished eighth.

The journey isn’t over.

The All-State Championships are scheduled for Sunday and Monday in Springfield, where several Sachems will look to extend their postseason runs and add to what has already been a landmark winter.