Monday, November 19, 2007

To my "ohana"...

To my "ohana"...great job at states! Each of you is so talented and I am so proud of my team! I can't wait for next season..we'll be back and better than ever! I love you all and thanks for making me love being a coach again! xoxo Coach McGraw

Sunday, November 18, 2007

CONGRATULATIONS!! 4th Place in the Whole State Co-ed Winners!!

"CONGRATULATIONS 4TH PLACE WINNERS Co-Ed in the WHOLE STATE!!!"

Saturday, November 17, 2007

"We're Going to States!"


Photo by Dave DeMelia
TAUNTON -Fri. November 16, 2007
The Bristol-Plymouth Craftsmen are not content with just competing at the MSSAA State Cheering Championship this weekend.
Now that they’re in the door at states, they have their sights set on reaching the National Championship. To get a bid for nationals, B-P must finish first in the Coed Division Sunday at Shrewsbury High School or place in the top 3 with a score of 160 points or more. There are eight coed teams scheduled to compete.
“I definitely didn’t think states, but now I have nationals stuck in my head,” Bristol-Plymouth coach Meghan McGraw said. “I told them in the very beginning the only thing I wanted them to get was a league title so they could get the league title back and they could get a banner.”
The Craftsmen accomplished that feat two weeks ago. Then last weekend, Bristol-Plymouth took second at the South Sectional tournament to qualify for states. This is the second state championship appearance by the Craftsmen in the program’s history. In 1999, B-P was the Division III South Co-Champion.
“We’ve been working hard all week,” McGraw said. “Usually our expectations were to get to regionals and just to get to states and now we want to go to Florida or somewhere for nationals.”
The Craftsmen, who feature two boys, are hoping to B-P on the map.
“I think this is a great opportunity to show what we’re made of this year,” senior TJ Pimental said. “All the years before that I’ve been on the team, we haven’t been as great as we are now.
“I think it’s great we’ve made it to states, but I’d like to see us go to nationals because I think it would be great not only for the team but the school.”
Senior Andy Demello has been surprised with how well the Craftsmen have done.
“This season has been unbelievable,” he said. “We’ve grown so much.”
What makes the Craftsmen so special is the relationship among the cheerleaders — both male and female.
“It’s nice having the boys here,” McGraw said. “They all get along. I don’t have any kids that get into trouble on the team. Each of them individually is so different, but they’re all really good kids.”
Bristol-Plymouth became a coed team four years ago and has had at least one boy on the team each year since then.
“It just happened that there was a boy who said ‘hey I can tumble. Can I try out?’” said McGraw. “And I was like ‘wow.’ Once he came on, he kind of broke the ice for everybody else.”
Kellie Kangiser is counting down to Sunday’s competition, which begins at 10 a.m. and includes five divisions.
“I’m really excited,” she said. “Now everyone can’t wait to go to regionals.”
Senior captain Katie Rizo just hopes her team nails its routine.
“I’m hoping that we at least get a good score even if we don’t move on to nationals and prove that we are a good team and we can accomplish things,” she said.
Members of the Bristol-Plymouth cheerleading squad are seniors Pimental, Demello, Kangiser, Rizo and Nicole Luppino; juniors Meagan Castro, Asia Camara, Linda Sirois and Brittany Tower; sophomores Toni Restagno, Nicole Abene, Keshia Anderson, Khara Rego, Samantha Lyon and Ana Downing and freshmen Alyson Gwozdz, Allie Andrews, Kaylee Silveira, Olivia Parry, Brittany Raposo, Cortney Morais and Jessica Barboza.
llos@tauntongazette.com


TAUNTON – Sunday Nov. 11, 2007
The one thing the Bristol-Plymouth cheerleaders have not done in head coach Megan McGraw’s four years is reach the state championship. That was the Craftsmen’s goal this year.

On Sunday morning at Taunton High, Bristol-Plymouth accomplished that feat by finishing second in the Coed Division behind Barnstable. “They were beyond psyched,” McGraw said. “There were a couple of really good coed teams there. They were like, ‘we’re going to states.’

“They could have been more solid, but they hit everything. They had the best dance and best jumps. They hit everything — nothing fell.”

The berth in the state meet comes after a remarkable showing the previous week at the Mayflower League championship when the Craftsmen captured three titles — Coed, Mayflower and Overall.

Bristol-Plymouth was the only local team to move on to states. Coyle-Cassidy, Dighton-Rehoboth, Bridgewater-Raynham and Taunton all came up short, but still had strong performances in front of a packed Taunton High Fieldhouse at the South Sectional meet.
The Tigers and Trojans both competed in Division I, which was won by Braintree with 179.5 points. Attleboro was second followed by Franklin and Needham. All four teams will compete next weekend.

“I thought the girls did excellent,” Taunton coach Ina Collins said afterward of her team, which has seven seniors. “We have great seniors. We have leadership with our seniors. They’ve really helped pull the team together I feel.”

Fellow Taunton coach Caitlin Crowninshield agreed.

“Divison I is the hardest division so just making it to regionals is an accomplishment,” she explained. “The top three or four teams in the state are in the south region so just to compete and be able to be on their level is an accomplishment.”

The Tigers entered Sunday’s competition coming off of a third-place showing at the Old Colony League Championship. Attleboro won the OCL crown and Barnstable took second in front of Taunton by just .5 points.

“It’s a tough league and a tough division,” Crowninshield said. “Just to be able to be on the same level and compete with the same skills as everyone else is great.”

Bridgewater-Raynham coach Lisa Matta-Paze was also excited about her team’s performance.

“They did really good,” she said. “All we wanted to do was come in with a clean performance.”

The veteran Trojans feature nine seniors. “This was a big year, Matta-Paze said. “They wanted to go out strong. There are so many competitive girls here. They’re unbelievable.

“I didn’t know how it would turn out, but I’m happy with my squad. My seniors are very happy with themselves and it’s all about feeling good about yourself at the end.” Matta-Paze’s daughter competes on Coyle-Cassidy’s team, which performed in the morning session. Dighton-Rehoboth kicked off the afternoon session with its Division II performance.

llos@tauntongazette.com

#1 Champs!!

Cheers for the B-P Craftsmen


By LAURIE LOS Sports Editor
Sat. Nov. 10, 2007
Bristol-Plymouth cheerleaders have added three accomplishments to the program’s already storied history recently with three titles.
The Craftsmen, who are coached by Megan McGraw, captured the Mayflower League title Nov. 4th at Tri-County High School. They also won the coed competition and the overall championship, which combined Mayflower League teams with others from the open division.
“The biggest difference is the team as a whole,” McGraw said. “They all like each other. They don’t fight. That makes a big difference.”
A B-P cheerleading team in the fall hasn’t won the league title since 2001 when the Craftsmen brought home their second straight crown. Also around that time B-P cheerleaders finished as the Division III South Co-Champs in 1999.
In all, cheerleaders (fall and winter) have been on the winning end of six league championships and one coed title.
The Craftsmen are hoping to add even more accolades to their impressive season today when they compete during the Southeastern Massachusetts Regional Competition at Taunton High School. The meet, which has both a morning session and afternoon one, begins at 10 a.m.
Taunton, Bridgewater-Raynham, Dighton-Rehoboth and Coyle-Cassidy will also participate in the competition.
McGraw has her team focused on doing well at regionals so the Craftsmen can reach the state meet for the first time in McGraw’s four-year tenure.
“Regionals is the really big deal for us,” she said. “In four years, none of my kids have made it to states.”
The Craftsmen do have a history of performing well when it matters the most. “Bristol-Plymouth — their cheerleading has been one of the most winning sports at the school,” McGraw said. “I know a lot of kids come to B-P because they have a good cheerleading program.” McGraw’s cheerleaders take their sport seriously.
They practice more than two hours a day and nearly every day of the week. Then they perform at football games and participate in competitions. “These kids really want to cheer more than anything,” McGraw explained. “It takes a lot for the kids because a lot of them have jobs. For most of them, cheerleading comes first.”
McGraw hopes to return the cheerleading program to its glory days like in the early 2000s under Jessica Barber.
“She really made Bristol-Plymouth cheerleading great,” McGraw said. “I’m trying to get them back to where she had them.”
The Craftsmen, who include seniors — TJ Pimental, Andrew Demello, Kellie Kangiser, Katie Rizo and Nicole
Luppino; juniors — Meagan Castro, Asia Camara, Linda Sirois and Brittany Tower; sophomores — Toni Restagno, Nicole Abene, Keshia Anderson, Khara Rego, Samantha Lyon and Ana Downing and freshmen — Alyson Gwozdz, Allie “Soda” Andrews, Kaylee “Muffin” Silveira, Olivia Parry, Brittany Raposo, Cortney Morais and Jessica Barboza, have the support of many at the school including the football team.
“A lot of our football players came to this competition we won and they were a huge support for us,” McGraw said. “They’re very supportive of my team.”
The Craftsmen along with the Tigers, Trojans, Falcons and Warriors are hoping for lots of fan support today when they go up against the best teams in the area.

llos@tauntongazette.com

Cheering!!

Bristol-Plymouth Craftsmen Cheerleaders!