MIDDLEBORO —  The Middleboro High School Cheerleading Team had plenty to cheer about this season. 

The team qualified for the state playoffs after finishing in the top three of the league and regional tournaments.

With one of the biggest cheerleading teams in the state with wide-ranging experience levels, the team’s season was a success.

While an injury at the state tournament forced the team to perform their routine with one less athlete, Head Coach Jessica Dempsey voiced her pride in the team and called it a “really great season.”

“I grew as much as they did,” Dempsey said of the team. “I’m really excited for the future.”

Dempsey attributes the participation rate to the inclusive environment Principal Paul Branagan cultivates at the school. 

In all, the team had 38 cheerleaders on the team. All 38 supported the football team from the sidelines at games, and 15—including nine seniors—formed the competition team.

Part of the reason the team was so big was that Dempsey did not want to cut any athletes in the first normal season since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Any disparities in skill level or experience did not affect the team’s chemistry, Dempsey said, saying the team quickly formed a family environment.