V-I-C-T-O-R-Y!

The Mercer County Sparks Cheerleading Team entered the Special Olympics to have some fun.

The squad came back home No. 1!

Last weekend, Mackenzie Hoskins (Celina), Sara Thees (Celina), Alissa O'Connor (Fort Recovery), Ramsey Leverette (Fort Recovery), Jess Holdheide (St. Henry), Kaelin Overman (Fort Recovery) and Regan Cassada (Celina) went to Bowling Green State University to compete in the non-mounting, non-tumbling division of the Special Olympics Ohio 2020 Winter Games. The Sparks' routine earned them first place in a seven-team field.

"Our main goal was to have fun, not to win," said Celina senior cheerleader Lauren Higgins, a coach for the team. "We told the girls that from Day 1. I think winning is an added bonus."

Higgins, senior teammate Sierra Maxwell and Celina cheer advisor Rachel Eichenauer coached the team to V-I-C-T-O-R-Y.

The squad features three girls with prior experience in Thees, Overman and Holdheide, all of whom cheer for their hometown teams. The whole group had two months of practice time together for the event, which required chant, cheer and dance routines.

And they were fully committed to becoming the best cheerleaders they could be.

"They were super dedicated," Eichenauer said. "They weren't slacking off. That entire hour we were there (on Wednesdays), they were putting forth so much effort to make sure that they knew that routine. We had some girls who were practicing outside of practice as well."

Practicing at the hospital, too.

"A girl didn't want to miss practice so bad that the team sent a video of practice to her hospital room when she was sick," Eichenauer added. "We sent a video to her mom and she watched us practice on an iPad in her hospital bad. These girls really cared about it."

Over the summer, Mercer County Board of Developmental Board Disabilities Peer Support/ Recreation Specialist Samantha Fledderjohann reached out to Eichenauer about the possibility of Celina cheer holding a camp. Thecamp was held in the fall and open to anyone. From that, the Special Olympics' squad was born. The team members ranged from ages 8-20.

"After we had that camp, (Fledderjohann) said they were trying to put together a competitive cheer squad," Eichenauer explained. "She asked if I would be interested in coaching it. I said 'Sure.' So down the road, I ended up finding a couple of my seniors help me coach. We practiced once a week starting in the beginning of January, every Wednesday, for at least an hour.

"We taught them a few of the basic cheer moves because they were obviously doing a competitive cheerleading event. So we had to teach them that," Higgins added. "But I'd say what they made the most progress with is their confidence and just hearing them say the (cheers). At first they were all a little bit shy, but at the end they were all being really loud and clapping and eager to start the cheers, which was really cool to see."

Pre-performance jitters were apparent when they arrived at the Perry Field House in Bowling Green, the coaches said.

"They were all really nervous and anxious to compete, but we just told them to go out there and have fun," Higgins explained. "We practiced a little bit when we got there and we just kept reassuring them that they were going to do great."

Team members were feeling a full range of emotions after winning.

"There were seven teams in our division," Eichenauer said. "They went down the line from seventh place, sixth place, fifth place, fourth place, and the girls started to get worried. They were looking at us like, 'Did we not place at all?' They kind of looked scared, to be honest. They got down to second place, and I looked at Sam and she was freaking out. Then they announced us for first, and the girls were screaming and people were crying. It was crazy."

"They worked super hard and their motions were very tight and they were all very loud and the smiles on the faces definitely deserved first place," Higgins added.

If interested in learning how to become involved with Special Olympics cheer, contact Fledderjohann at Sfledderjohann@mercerdd.org.