Bethel Cheer Team makes history

BY NATALIE SONNANSTINE

On Sunday, September 22, 2026, the Bethel Cheer team competed in their first cheerleading competition at Covington. The team placed third out of nine teams from all over Ohio. Several cheerleaders also competed in the High School Jump Competition. Junior Kenadie Turner placed in the top four best jumps in the high school division. This is an amazing accomplishment for the Bethel Cheer Team and Bethel schools as they add this new sport and get to watch it grow for years to come. The team has worked hard to learn the routine and new skills they can use in competition and on the sidelines. 

The competition cheer team is led by captains Addisyn Kohorst, Bella Deiss, Brooke Statesman, and Gwen Buford. Kohorst, a senior, says that the team is “still extremely new to stunting, tumbling, and performing the way one is supposed to in a competition cheerleading performance.” The coaches are working hard with the girls to learn how the competition world works and help them be as prepared as possible. Kohorst said she was very nervous for her first competition and kept going over the routine in her head. The team was excited for this moment, and the girls came together to support each other and lift one another up in those anxious moments before performing.

After the competition, all the seniors were called up and were honored by the school and recognized for their hard work and dedication. The seniors are Kohorst, Deiss, Maddie Hoehn, and Ryleigh Tarburton. After that, the real awards began, and the team sat together, anxiously waiting to hear the results. Kohorst said that when they announced Bethel had won 3rd, the team “jumped with joy and excitement because it was truly a surreal experience.” Kohorst has cheered since kindergarten, so growing and winning with her team felt amazing. Kohorst said her favorite memory from high school was learning all the stunts. She said that when she first learned the shoulder stunts, she thought the team would never be able to do them, but now they can do them easily and even learn harder stunts. The team has been growing and putting in so much work to help be the best they can be. 

Tarburton also agrees with Kohnort, saying it's amazing to see the routines come together and to watch them build the team from the ground up. The girls are motivated to be the best they can and try their hardest this first year. Tarburton said what motivates her most is knowing this is her senior year. She knows this is “the last year I can do high school competition cheer,” and she uses that to motivate herself and others to be their best. Tarburton is also using this motivation to help her become a great leader for the team and someone for the girls to look up to. She said that this season she is working on “not being afraid to speak up when she thinks something is going wrong” and “not being afraid of conflict” if she knows it will help the team grow and get better.

These girls are seeing amazing improvement and will continue to get better in their first season in competition cheerleading. Their next competition is October 4th at Arcanum High School. Good luck, ladies!