The Sweet Home High School cheerleaders named Nicole Grady their Pink Pom Girl of the Year – the team’s most valuable player – Wednesday evening, April 3, during their annual awards banquet.
The team also named Grady its Most Inspirational for the fourth year in a row.
Sophomore Kierstan Cockrell was voted Rookie of the year. Junior Kenzie Wolfe won the Work Horse Award. Molly McKillop, a member of the junior varsity, and varsity sophomore Kelly Ogden were named Most Improved. Junior Haily Miller received the team’s Sideline Spirit Award.
Freshmen Megan Glover and Ava Royer and senior Rylee Vasfaret tied in team votes for the Tough as Nails Award.
Coach Lea Knight gave her Coach’s Award to Tayler Clair, a member of the JV. Head Coach Amber Rosa gave her Coach’s Award to Royer.
The Sideline Spirit Award is new, Rosa said. The coaching staff changed the team focus to cheering at games rather than as heavily on the winter competition season. The award was to go to the person who showed “spirit the whole game,” engaging the crowd at sporting events and taking it as seriously as every other facet of the sport.
Rosa said this team has given her “favorite memories ever” as the Huskies moved through a number of firsts during the competition season.
Among them, the Huskies hosted their first cheer competition in December.
The program also grew large enough to create a JV competition team for the first time.
For the first time in the eight years Rosa has been head coach, and ninth overall, the team went to a national-level cheer event.
And another first: “at the varsity level, we didn’t have a single person sitting out because of grades,” Rosa said. The team also had no code violations. The Huskies showed great, 100-percent dedication all year long.
She credited the example set by her senior leaders, Grady, Vasfaret, Aliya Boss and Hailey Wolfe.
“They set the stage for the entire varsity team to be a family this year,” Rosa said. They were kind, humble, inclusive and selfless with the varsity team and the JV too.
The varsity team won three first-place trophies and one second-place trophy prior to state, where they finished second behind Newport. The Huskies placed fourth at nationals in Anaheim, Calif.
The JV placed first in the fight song category three times and second once. The team placed second and third twice in band dance during the season. At the state championships, the JV placed third in band dance and fight song.
Earning first-year letters for the fall and winter, which includes competition, seasons were freshmen Megan Glover and Ava Royer, sophomore Kierstan Cockrell and junior Leaha McQueary,
Second-year letters went to sophomores Charisma Hardee and Kelly Ogden, juniors Taylor Goodwin and Mariah Harrington and senior Aliya Boss
Earning their third letters were juniors Haily Miller, Courtnie Woodard, Shelby Goodwin and Kenzie Wolfe and senior Rylee Vasfaret.
Four-year letter winners were Nicole Grady and Hailey Wolfe.