NEW MADISON – Patriots’ senior, Grace Engle, the daughter of Leslie and Roger Engle signed to cheer for the Bowling Green University Falcons cheerleading team Wednesday at Tri-Village High School.
“I chose Bowling Green because when I stepped on campus I just felt a very homelike community,” Engle said of her college choice. “It reminded me a lot of home. It was somewhere I could picture myself being the next four years.”
“Grace will bring something that not a lot of girls have – her heart and willing to prove to everyone that she can hang and be one of the best girls that she can be,” said Tri-Village cheerleading coach Danielle Bourne. “She’s going to represent Darke County up there well.”
Engle will study Exercise Science while continuing her cheerleading career at the NCAA Division I level.
The Patriots senior has 10 years cheerleading experience and gives much of her success to the program at Tri-Village.
“I have had the best experience here at Tri-Village during my 10 years of cheerleading from the community, the coaches, my teammates,” Engle said. “They have all just helped me grow into a person and grow as a cheerleader. I am definitely going to take what I learned from Tri-Village to Bowling Green because it has taught me a lot of valuable lessons here.”
“She’s been here for about 10 years,” said Coach Bourne. “I started coaching her when she was my second group of peewee and I have just followed her through junior high and high school, so it’s a little bittersweet to see her go, but to see the girl that started in and the and girl that ended is truly remarkable.”
Engle is ready for the challenge of D-I college athletics.
“I’ll be spending even more time than I do in high school revolving around cheerleading,” Engle stated. “I am going to be making community appearances, cheering at games, possibly competing at the college level and just continuing my passion of cheerleading.”
“Grace has that heart,” said Bourne. “She’s going to succeed.”
“I would like to thank my coach, Danielle (Bourne) and her mother Darlene,” concluded Engle. “They have helped me since I was literally this tall. I would like to thank my parents for supporting me as well as my teammates and friends.”
