OLLU Spirit Celebrated Seniors' Day on April 19
SAN ANTONIO (April 22, 2024) – The Our Lady of the Lake University (OLLU) spirit team celebrated seniors' day after the first softball game on Saturday. Seniors recognized included Skylar Lloyd, Deann Ortega and Madicela Perez.
Skylar Lloyd was the first cheerleader signed when the competitive cheer program began in 2020. She is a native of Eagle River, Alaska, and is majoring in mathematics. Lloyd, who has been the captain of the team all four years, is a multi-year Dean's List recipient, NAIA Scholar-Athlete and Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC) Scholar-Athlete. She received the OLLU Bridge Builder Award and the OLLU Residence Life Community Developer of the Year. Lloyd also received Academic All-District honors in 2023. She was named her team's Top Saint in 2022. Her team in 2023 was named NAIA Scholar Team.
Deann Ortega has been part of the cheer program since the beginning and is co-captain. She is majoring in criminal justice. Ortega is a native of San Antonio, where she graduated from John Jay High School. She was named her team's Top Saint in 2023, and last year, she received the Phoenix Award. The cheer program was named NAIA Scholar Team in 2023.
Madicela Perez is a native of San Antonio, where she graduated from Brennan High School. She has been a member of the dance program since the inaugural season in 2020. Perez, the captain of the team, is majoring in political science. Her teams from 2020-2021, 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 have been NAIA Scholar Teams. She was named her team's Top Saint in 2023.
Most recently, the competitive cheer, dance and drumline teams competed on the national stage at Daytona in mid-April. The spirit programs reached new heights and marked first-time appearances in OLLU's history. The Saints had two different performances at Daytona. The dance squad showcased the Dance Team Performance, and the Game Day Performance was made up of dance, cheer and drumline. The Dance Team Performance debuted their routine in the semifinals on Thursday. They earned third place out of 11 other NAIA programs and moved on to the finals having been in the top six. The team received a score of 83.3 and competed against Oklahoma City University, Aquinas College, Roosevelt University, Missouri Baptist University, Ottawa University, University of Pikeville, University of the Cumberlands, Hastings College, Texas Wesleyan University and Columbia College. The Saints ended up finishing in third place after the final round with a score of 83.4. Madicela Perez, Madison Smith, Yasmine Escobar, Isabella Arroyo, Iyana Robinson, Juliana Eigel, Jo Ann Mynar Melendrez and Isis Almanza represented the Saints.
Cheer took third place in both the semifinals and finals. The judges scored their semifinals performance at 71.5 and the finals routine at 73.8. Navarro College, East Texas Baptist University and North Carolina Wesleyan University competed alongside OLLU. This was the first time Game Day Performance competed in the category. The Dance Team Performance members were joined by Skylar Lloyd, Deann Ortega, Ember Sandoval, Darian Saldana, Brynlee Lloyd, Ginobili Cobarrubias, Angelina Ochoa, Leah Chanette, Daphne Flores-Gonzales, Ben Cavazos, Sean Lin, Brandon Wehman, Cristina Serrano and Mia Hernandez. They placed for the first time appearing on the Bandshell stage.
The spirit programs competed in numerous events this season, including The Battle in the Big Easy, the Point Park Virtual Meet, DTU Regional and ADTS Collegiate Championships.