The Cincinnati Enquirer once again is offering a new weekly feature recognizing the accomplishments of cheerleaders, dance team members and their squads: The Spirit Award.
Much like the popular athlete of the week voting,
school fans and friends voted on two weekly ballots (individual and team) for The Spirit Award. Only coaches can provide nominations each week, either for their squads or other teams.Eligible are varsity girls and boys cheerleaders and dancers who exemplify the fruits of the spirit ‒ love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control – while uplifting their squads, the student body and others. Team nominations focus on squads that come together to help each other, work hard, do things
right that week, show outstanding virtues when dealing with or serving others, exceed expectations to prepare something special for the school or take part in any other honorable reason they might be acknowledged.
This week's Spirit Award winners are:
Maddy Yenser, Lakota East
The senior has truly stepped up as a leader within our program by taking an active role in mentoring our younger cheerleaders. She has a natural gift for teaching cheers and ensuring that every team member understands the material and feels confident performing it. Maddy has also demonstrated creativity and initiative by organizing a scavenger hunt to introduce squad families and strengthen team connections. In addition, she helped develop the dance for the pep rally and plays an important role in managing our Instagram account, helping promote our program and increase its visibility within the community. Her leadership, creativity, and dedication have made a significant impact on our team.
Talawanda High School varsity cheerleaders
The team has been working to raise spirit throughout the school and student body for all of our fall sports and activities. Being creative and working together with our Student Section as well as our Athletic Booster Club, the team has raised the school to a new level of enthusiasm for our sports teams.
How winners can receive their certificates
Here is the new link for the 2026-2027 school year that contains the PDF winning certificates.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Enquirer announces Spirit Award winners for Sept. 4
