On February 5th, 2026, Malden’s cheer team’s senior night was filled with flowers, gifts, memories, and applause that echoed through the gym as they cheered on the Boys’ Basketball team one last time, starting a new chapter in their lives as the season ended.
That night, cheer coach Briana Silva-Couture individually announced the team’s eleven seniors as they each walked towards the middle of the gym, taking photos with their families and friends. The seniors consisted of captain Claudia Hernandez Escobar, captain Taliyah Lauture, captain Patricia Mukasa, Rachel Valladares Lanza, Delina Yohannes (also Editor-in-Chief of Web and Mobile for the Blue and Gold), Nour Jaayfer, Aaliyah Lopes, Sorin Mamouzette, Ndiaye Oliver-Destine, Olivia Sateriale, and Lorella Beechin.
Captain Escobar started cheerleading at five-years-old when her mother put her into the sport. “I’ve been competitive cheering for around twelve years now. What made me want to continue in the sport is just my love for it and my passion for wanting to get better and better.” She has been on the team for three seasons, joining the winter cheer team in 2024. During senior night, she “felt a lot of emotions at once, happy, relieved, and sad” that her last time putting on a cheer uniform was senior night.
Captain Mukasa has been on the team since the Winter cheer season of 2022. “What made me want to continue was that I found much passion in cheer, and it was very fun for me,” adding that she had also made many friendships.
Although it was Beechin’s first year cheering for Malden High School, she had a passion for cheer since she was five-years-old. She stated, “I started out with Malden Pop Warner for about nine years, then went into all-star at JAG cheer, which I am on my third year cheering at this gym.”
Enjoying her time here, “senior night experience was very fun, and it was nice getting my accomplishments recognized. I feel very proud of what I performed during the game,” she continued, expressing how she loves showing her classmates, friends, and family what she can and loves to do.
Lanza started cheerleading in her junior year during the winter season and continued for the love of the sport. Lanza commented on how senior night felt surreal, knowing that once fall cheer season was over, and as soon as the winter season came, she knew that it would be her last time doing cheer. “I felt my performance was amazing, especially with the competitive game; it all felt like something out of High School Musical.”
Mamouzette has been on the team since the winter season of 2024 and has always been interested in cheerleading since she was younger. She had also done dance and gymnastics, and wanted to try something new. She continued for her friends and the memories she made, and the support from her teammates. She said, “I believe I performed to the best of my abilities, and I always pushed myself to keep going.”
Lopes started cheering at the end of her Junior year to push herself out of her comfort zone. “I initially treated tryouts as a form of exposure therapy, never expecting to make the team,” she added, “however, I made it, and I continued cheer throughout my senior year because I found that I enjoyed learning new skills, performing, and the friendships that came from it.” She hopes that the team learns “to try new things and go out of their comfort zone because you never know what may happen.”
Jaayfer joined the cheer team in the winter of 2024 due to the fact that she had always wanted to be a cheerleader like the ones she saw online when she lived in Morocco. Once she moved to the U.S and began attending Malden High, she made it her mission to join the team. “Ever since then, I promised myself I’ll keep going since that’s been my dream since a little kid.” Jaafyer added, “I hope the underclassmen understand that it’s okay to mess up and it’s okay to feel like you did not give your best at times because that’s all a part of sports in general.”
“I hope that my underclassmen just learn patience and honesty. Being a captain isn’t just a title. It takes time and things not everyone sees. I hope they all learn how to just be patient and let things happen,” stated Captain Escobar.
Having to balance sports, schoolwork, and extracurriculars all at the same time can be tiring, especially for captain Mukasa, who felt that “some obstacles were having competition, practice, and game day practices where we couldn’t be in the same place at once.” However, the team eventually resolved the problem by having returning cheerleaders help the new members, “which helped a lot,” said Captain Mukasa.
“Some obstacles I encountered were not hitting a stunt hit. It would bother me that I couldn’t get it or I didn’t understand it. Thankfully, I had such nice teammates to tell me what I was doing wrong and how to fix it, which helped a lot,” commented Mamouzette.
Despite the obstacles, a special thing about doing sports is being able to look back and make memories with the team. For Lanza, it was the cheer banquet in which she received an award for “Silent Hero” during her junior year and a carwash fundraiser in the summer going into senior year. In her senior year, some of the most memorable moments were her senior night during the fall season, performing at the pep rally, and senior sign-out posters during the last practice of the winter season.
“My most memorable moments during my time cheering are all the girls making me feel okay, whether I’m having a bad day, or if I felt as though I messed up. They always made sure to be there for me,” concluded Jaayfer.
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