Cover credit – Sachem Central School District
Two, four, six, eight, who do we appreciate? The Arrows!
The Sachem East varsity cheerleading team capped off another successful season with a Suffolk County Championship. The Arrows will look to defend their title as they head to states this week in Binghamton.
The Sachem East Arrows are a member of the New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) and compete in Class A. The squad is led by twin sisters Victoria and Brianna Aghabekian. Victoria was named Suffolk County coach of the year by Newsday in 2024.
“My sister [Victoria] is the head coach and I’m the assistant coach. She’s been the head coach for five years, and I’ve been the assistant for four. We’re actually alumni, we graduated from Sachem East, cheered on the team for four years, graduated in 2011, we were captains. So, it’s like a full circle with going back and coaching now,” said B. Aghabekian.
This group of cheerleaders are no strangers to success, as they’ve won the Suffolk County Championship three out of the last four years, and they won the state and regional championship last year.
Greatness? Dynasty in the making? Whatever you would like to call it, the Arrows have their traditional and game-day routines down pat.
“It’s doing the reps several times over and over again until us and the girls feel confident in their skills where there’s no question in mind about how our performances will go,” said B. Aghabekian.
The team has eleven seniors set to graduate this spring. For most of their high school cheer careers, they found success on the mat. Some athletes are lucky to win a title once, but to win multiple times at different levels of competition is unique.
“They are the heart of the team, to be honest with you a couple of them I’ve coached every single year since I’ve been the coach so I don’t know how to coach a team without some of them, next year will definitely be different. They’re a great group of kids, it’s beyond a sport, they become a family. They spend most of their time with each other whether they’re at practice, all-star gyms, or tumbling classes,” said B. Aghabekian.
Sachem East earned three first-place finishes this winter season which helped them to secure the first place ranking. In addition, they also earned their first ever win at the Universal Cheerleading Association (UCA) Regionals. The competition typically is held at Disney and most teams usually have their sights set on making it to the most magical place on earth.
“We competed in the large varsity division this year which was one of the hardest divisions at the competition. We had an amazing performance for both routines, unfortunately, the competition was very hard to make it through the final rounds,” said B. Aghabekian of their second-place finish at the UCA’s.
In the sport of cheerleading, a team competes together as a unit. Sachem East embodies the concept wholeheartedly.
“You have to love it to be there, you can’t force anyone to be there to be successful. You have to wanna be better. And they all do it for each other,” B. Aghabekian told The Messenger.
