Post-season cheer and wrestling championships in Partners Bank Competition Gym

By alex lemay, staff writer

Sanford High School is set to host some major competition events for the Southwestern Maine Activities Association (SMAA) and the Maine Principal’s Association (MPA) in early 2023. This is an exciting opportunity for Sanford to show off its state-of-the-art facilities to student-athletes and coaches from schools across the entire state.

“Sanford is very fortunate to host these events and we are super excited to show off our beautiful facility,” said Athletic Administrator Zachary Lemelin. “Our parents are excited not only for our teams but also for the other teams attending.”

This series of events have already started, when Sanford hosted 17 other schools for the Annual Sportsmanship Summit on Dec. 6, where 10 students were chosen to represent each school. 

After two years, the SWAT meet, Sanford’s annual home wrestling tournament, is back on Jan. 6 and 7. The SWAT is recognized as one of the toughest tournaments in all of New England, where 20 teams from Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Hampshire and Maine — all at the top of the New England Championships every year — come to compete.

Additionally, Sanford will be home to the MPA Wrestling State Championship on Feb. 18, where we hope to see our dual state championship team find repeat success. 

The Partners Bank Competition Gym will also host two major SMAA cheerleading events including the Varsity League Championships on Saturday, Jan. 28 as well as Regionals on Saturday, Feb. 4.

These events will likely need volunteers to help run ticket collection, concession stands, set up and breakdown, and team greeting and organization. This is a great opportunity for students to get in some community service hours. 

If interested in volunteering with any of these events, please reach out to Lemelin, Wrestling Coach Nate Smith, or Cheer Coach Kendra O’Connell.