She’s Back!
She runs up and down the
sidelines and through the stands, cheering on the team and pepping up the crowd
with her blue cape and added sparkles made by her mother. She is the Marian Crusader, senior Magann
Venteicher.
By the end of the 2001-2002
school year, Marian no longer had a mascot because “the position never got
handed down,” said cheerleading captain, senior Kerry ter Kuile.
“A lot of other schools have
a mascot and it just gives a new aspect to get the crowd going,” said ter
Kuile. After the cheerleaders talked to
their moderator, Miss Megan Piernicky, they were able to deem Venteicher the
school’s mascot.
Having a mascot “makes it a
lot easier for us [the cheerleaders] to entertain the crowd…it lessens the dead
silence so to speak. I think she
[Venteicher] fits the part perfectly,” said ter Kuile.
“I thought it would be fun
because we didn’t have one last year.
All the cheerleaders asked me [to become the school’s mascot] and I said
yes,” said Venteicher.
Since the introduction of
the school’s mascot at State Volleyball, and her participation at basketball
games, fans have been able to appreciate the spirited senior’s energy. “Everyone thought it was really cool. I got a lot of compliments,” said Venteicher.
“Everybody expects to see
cheerleaders [at basketball games], but when they see the mascot…it adds the
element of surprise…it’s definitely a benefit,” said Piernicky.
Freshman Lauren Greisch
said, “We just get excited when we see her…she has an energy around her.”
Venteicher said she enjoys “being
able to jump around and cheer and wear a costume.” However, she does experience the difficulty being the school’s
mascot. She said, “Sometimes it’s hard
because people talk on their cell phone.
They’re not paying attention and it’s like why are you here if you’re
not going to watch the game.”
Her job, may seem quite
simple, “It’s just kind of like I get in with the students and work up the
spirit,” said Venteicher. However, not
a lot of students are attending school-sponsored sporting events. She
encourages more students to attend games because it would be more fun. “It helps pump up the team and the
atmosphere. It would be nice if they
[more fans] started coming,’ she said.
After Venteicher graduates,
she plans on passing down her costume and mascot responsibilities, however, she
claims she doesn’t know to whom as of now.