N.B. cheer squad heading to top international competition

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A Saint John-based cheerleading squad will compete in a major international competition for the second year in a row.

Carleton All Star Cheerleading is sending its U16 team to the Summit 2024 Championship in Orlando, Florida, this spring.

Morgan Salter, cheerleading director for Carleton All Star, said this competition is the largest in the world for their age level, and is the first time anyone in Saint John will be attending the event.

This comes after Carleton qualified and competed in the 2023 Open Championship series. That year, Carleton also sent a separate team to the Cheerleading Worlds.

Salter said unlike the Open, they had to receive a bid to go to Summit, but the team earned more than that.

“Our kids not only received a bid, but they received a paid bid, which means they received money to help them to get to the competition as well,” said Salter. “Summit is obviously a huge accomplishment for anyone in the cheerleading community and coming from such a small program, and being on the west side of Saint John, we’re just so incredibly proud of the athletes.”

The Summit begins on May 2 at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World.

The bid covered the athletes’ registration fees, and four days accommodation, said Salter.

Salter said they’re bringing a 10-person team, nine of whom went to the Open Championship last year.

This year’s team includes Karissa Meunier, Miranda Fox, Taylor Briggs, Abigail Cawley, Bella Smith, Peyton Little, Scarlett Wyles, Caleb Vautour, Lucy Costello, and Tayor Worden. Along with Salter, the team is coached by Madelynn Ryan and Abbygail Craig.

“They’ve just really put in an incredible amount of work this season, and work together to get where they (are despite) injuries and illnesses,” she said. “They’ve worked to get past all of that (and to get) that paid bid, so we’re super proud of them.”

Carleton All Star Cheerleading is in its 15th season as a program. The non-profit typically operates out of the Carleton Community Centre on the west side of Saint John.

The ages of the athletes range from 11-16 on this year’s team.

Salter said in three competitions so far, they’ve finished on top of them all. She said they finished each competition with a Grand, the highest percentage of the score at competitions.

“With all of those things, I just feel like they are so prepared for this competition, and they’re just very excited to get going,” she said.

21 N.B. basketball players shortlisted to girls’ Atlantic all-stars

Some of New Brunswick’s top girls’ high school basketball players could potentially play with the best in the region.

Twenty-one players have been shortlisted for the 2024 Canletes Atlantic Canada Girls’ High School All-Star Game, according to its Facebook page. The game will feature some of the best players from New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, P.E.I., and Newfoundland and Labrador.

The game is set to take place on April 27 at Dalhousie University in Halifax.

Five players from the Fredericton and west region are on the watchlist, with three from Leo Hayes – Ella Simmons, Kristen Simmonds and Leah Stewart – along with Riley Demerchant and Delaney MacElwain of Harvey High.

Simmonds, MacElwain and Demerchant were named New Brunswick Interscholastic Athletic Association all-stars this past season. Demerchant and MacElwain helped Harvey to a provincial championship back in February.

In the Moncton area, seven players have been listed, including Addie Albert, Lily Barnett, and Payton Hopper of Riverview High, Eve Kalala of Mathieu-Martin, Findlay Short and Sadie Enstrom of Salisbury Regional, and Kate Filmore of Harrison Trimble.

Enstrom was named NBIAA Northeastern Conference AA Player of the Year, and was named an all-star with Kalala and Filmore.

The greater Saint John area has the largest number of players with nine. They include Beth Harris, Aislyn Burns, and Anna Somers of St. Stephen, Clancy McIntyre of St. Malachy’s, Ella MacDonald, Julia Williams, Megan Skedgel, and Nicole Jenkins of Kennebecasis Valley, and Natalia Colley of Rothesay Netherwood.

McIntyre and Somers were named NBIAA Southwestern Conference Player of the Year for AAA and AA respectively. Somers, Harris, Burns, and McIntyre led their respective teams to provincial titles this past season.

Burns, Somers, McIntyre, and Skedgal were all named conference all-stars this year.

Registration in order to make the list can cost anywhere from $30 to $70.