By William Croyle
Enquirer contributor

WITHAMSVILLE - While Connor Gerome and his teammates have enjoyed playing on the fourth-grade basketball team at St. Thomas More School this season, their younger sisters weren't thrilled about being dragged by their parents to the practices and games.

So Connor's mom, Melissa, decided to do something about it.

Anderson High cheerleader Kiri Crawford, 17, works with (l-r) Carley Scales, 6, and Maggie Mulloney, 7, both of whom go to St. Thomas More School in Withamsville. (Steven M. Herppich photo)

"It started with little sisters wanting to get involved," said Gerome, a Turpin High School cheerleader in the mid-1980s. "Now, it's burst into something big."

Gerome's grassroots effort to start a spirit squad at the Clermont County school began at a booster club meeting in November when she got the go-ahead. She sent fliers home and 18 students responded.

Then onto eBay.

"I was going on a wing and a prayer," Gerome said.

Gerome found 70 red and white, two-piece cheerleading uniforms on the Internet auction site, the same school colors as St. Thomas More.

A Virginia school was selling its old uniforms to raise money to go to a national competition. Gerome bought all 70 of them, unstitched the lettering and sewed on "STM."

"Their hand-me-downs became our treasures," Gerome said.

Open to boys and girls with no tryouts necessary, there are 26 girls on the team. They've been divided into two squads and cheer for the school's third- through eighth-grade basketball teams.

"I hear the kids talking to each other about it in the lunchroom. They just love it," said Principal Peg Fischer. "Rather than just sitting in the bleachers being bored, they can get out there and use their energy."

The team gets instruction from McNicholas and Anderson high school cheerleaders. Their repertoire of cheers has jumped from three the first week of the season to 19. They also perform some acrobatic stunts, including back flips and pyramids.

"I thought it would be cool to do cheerleading and try something new," said 11-year-old Sarah Nimmo. "It's been really fun."

Twins Abby and Maddie Mitchell, 7, are following the lead of their older sister, Jessica, a cheerleader at McNicholas.

"I'm doing it because my bigger sister does it and I want to be like her," said Abby.

It may be the only grade school squad in the area that cheers at basketball games.

The squad has been asked to cheer at the school's volleyball games when the basketball season ends. And though there are fewer than 300 students in the K-8 school, Gerome's goal is to put all of the uniforms to use.

"Coaches have been coming to us asking us to come to their games," said Gerome. "My long-term goal is to have a squad at every grade level."

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E-mail williamcroyle@yahoo.com