The South Effingham Middle School cheerleaders held their awards banquet recently and several girls were recognized for their outstanding performances on the squad during the past year.

Being recognized as the most valuable and for having the highest grade point average was Caroline Spivey. Most spirited was Emily Humphries. Caroline Rietkovich was recognized by the coaches as the most dependable. The best bases for the teams were Chelsea Hagy and Logan Thibodeaux. The teams best flyers were Miranda Bucy and Megan Brown.

This was the first year that SEMS has had a competitive cheerleading team and head coach Hursela Pelote noted that going into the season “she had no idea what to expect.”

However the team met and exceeded all expectations as they won first place in their first ever competition in Richmond Hill and finished the year off with a 10th-place finish in the state competition.