Annually at the renowned Columbia Resturaunt in Ybor, the Jesuit Cheerleaders hold a banquet to end the season. Throughout this banquet the girls and their family members get a chance to reflect on the past year. This banquet highlights the Senior girls for their time and dedication on the team, and allows them to share their knowledge and wishes for the underclassmen and future of Jesuit cheerleading.

Junior Varsity Coach Mayor gathers pictures from all the squad members and puts together a beautiful slideshow of memories from tryouts, football, and basketball season. After this slideshow is most of the girls favorite part, the food! In a three course meal, the salad, rice chicken and beans entree, and dessert keep the cheerleaders coming back each year. Both Coaches, Coach Mayor and Varsity Coach Mac, then hand out the awards.

The Varsity team’s awards were: Melissa Mainzer (Best All Around), Maggie MacNamara (Most Valuable Cheerleader), Haley Ratchford and Claire Lamoureaux (Leadership Award), Kendall Bopp (Coaches Award) and Natalie Martinez (The Unsung Hero). Each of these awards are great honors that each member deserves. The girls do not work for these awards, but rather all of the unrecognized dedication and leadership throughout the season earns them this.

The night was especially emotional for the seniors. Many shed tears; especially during the speeches. At once, all the seniors walked to a row in a front eager to present their speeches. Senior Claire Lamoureaux started off by giving a speech from senior Hannah Hancock who was unable to attend. Down the row, the girls speeches were filled with specific memories from the past four years, motivation for the underclassmen girls, and most importantly [they were] thank you’s to the coaches who have kept this program strong. During senior Sydney Sinardi’s speech, she talked about the beautiful memories she has created on this team. She gave special shout outs including one to her sophomore sister Skyler who is also on the team.

To Skyler and the rest of the cheerleaders, Sydney preached, “Cherish the moments you’re on those sidelines cheering for Jesuit. You’ll never know how much you miss it ’till you’re standing up here looking back. Don’t blink”.

The luscious lunch  ended with a thanks from the coaches. “Without you all and your parents, the caliber of Jesuit Cheerleading would not be the same today”.

The seniors have left their legacy on the team, now it is just a little wait until try-outs in May to see how the future of Jesuit cheerleading is upheld.