WALDOBORO – The cheering season may be over for high school this year, but that does not mean the accolades stop there.

Recently the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference Class B announced its awards for cheering and the Panthers certainly took their share of the awards.

The Medomak Valley cheerleaders won the KVAC Class B championship, the Eastern Regional Class B championship and finished second in the state Class B championship competition. Great year for the team and if cheering is not a team sport there are none.

Now it’s time for some individuals to get their due.

Lets start with first year head coach Heather Simmons who was chosen by her peers as the KVAC Coach of the Year. Quite the distinctive honor for a first year head coach.

“The friendliness and support of the other coaches in our group is amazing.” said Simmons. “Everyone is always willing to share ideas and give input to improve our support. All of the coaches put in a lot of time so it is nice to be recognized by your peers. I could not have been a great coach with out the support of my assistant coach Rachel Coor. My supportive athletic director, amazing parents and talented cheerleaders also make me the coach I am today.”

For coach Simmons, who is losing a good group of her squad to graduation, the future of the squad still looks very bright.

“We are graduating a very talented group that has been the core of our program since they were freshman.” said Simmons. “They have definitely set the standard of drive and determination for the underclassman which will make the transition into the future of the program easier. Their leadership and personality of this group will be missed, but someone always steps up and fills the shoes and we definitely have remaining team members to fill that role. We will still have a very strong team and our plan is to focus this summer on improving the level of difficulty in our stunts and tumbling.”

Individually the awards were led by Stephanie Hill who was chosen as the KVAC Class B Athlete of the year. Hill a junior has the perfect attitude, brilliant smile and such a passion for the sport that it always shows on her face rather in competition or cheering on the end line of a home game.

“I felt very surprised to say the least, but it is definitely an honor.” said Hill. “I'm very thankful I got it. I just love everything about cheer, and there are so many different aspects and I always try to push myself to improve in all parts of the sport.”

Coach Simmons could not agree more about what Hill brings to the team.

“Amongst Stephanie being an amazing cheerleader, her involvement in two other varsity sports, National Honor Society, PAWS, Church Camp, various volunteer experiences, high GPA and having a job she is a pretty impressive candidate as a junior athlete.” said Simmons. “Stephanie puts a lot of time into our sport in the off season to improve her skills and is a great teammate and very coach-able kid.”

Hill along with teammates Ashlee Wilson and Casey Dever were also chosen for KVAC Class B all conference first team and Shania Melvin for KVAC Class B all conference second team.

“Ashlee Wilson has made the greatest improvement over her cheerleading career.” said Simmons. “She is exceptional in all of the fundamental categories of cheer. She is a natural leader and knows how to motivate her team.”

“Cassie is naturally athletic and very fun to watch.” said Simmons. “She is an exceptional jumper and tumbler and an amazing base.”

“Shania is one of the hardest working kids on my team.” said Simmons. “She spend hours at home increasing her flexibility and is one our most reliable stunters.”

At the Medomak Valley winter sports banquet recently even more awards were passed out.

Academic award for seniors, Shania Melvin and Olivia Ryan. Underclass man academic awards went to Dever, Hill, Hannah Smith, Ana Wadsworth and Courtney Ducharme.

Hill was also named the teams MVP at the Banquet.

A great season for this group of talented squad members and a very dedicated coach. There achievements give the entire school every reason to be very proud of them.

Ron Hawkes can be reached at hawkesnews@gmail.com