GO IRISH! — Kelsey Crawford, daughter of Michael and Karen Crawford of Weirton, is a junior and a member of the Notre Dame cheerleading team looking forward to Saturday’s game against Ohio State. -- Contributed,

COLUMBUS — Although the Ohio Valley is filled with Ohio State Buckeye fans, there’s a strong local Notre Dame fan base.

And that includes the Crawford family of Weirton with good reason.

Like many, they’ll be watching the college football opening prime-time showdown in Ohio Stadium in Columbus on Saturday evening.

That’s where the Ohio State Buckeyes will square off against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish with the stadium expected to be filled with more than 102,000 screaming fans and millions more watching across the nation, including the Ohio Valley. 

The game at 7:30 p.m. will be televised on ABC, and ESPN GameDay will set up in Columbus for the day.

Kelsey Crawford, a 2020 graduate of Madonna High School, was being recruited to cheer at Ohio State all through high school. “She spent hundreds of hours at Ohio State and was invited to a game, won a recruit award and became friends with the team, but the draw of Notre Dame was strong,” according to her mother, Karen Crawford. -- Contributed.

Michael and Karen Crawford of Weirton have two daughters at the University of Notre Dame, including Sydney, a 2021 graduate of Madonna High School and sophomore who is a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Gymnastics Clubs, on the 2022 National Champion Gymnastics Team and in the Mendoza College of Business. 

Their daughter Kelsey, however, a 2020 graduate of Madonna High School, is a junior and a member of the Notre Dame cheerleading team. 

She is majoring in neuroscience and behavior with a minor in computing and digital technologies. Her plans are to attend medical school and become a pediatric orthopedic surgeon.  

Kelsey’s road to cheering at Notre Dame began at an early age and has an ironic back story to it involving OSU.

Kelsey competed as a USA Gymnastics Junior Olympic gymnast for 10 years and holds numerous Pennsylvania state and regional titles, her mother explained, noting Kelsey’s experience as a gymnast made for an easy transition to cheering.

Weirton native Kelsey Crawford -- Contributed

As a Madonna High School cheerleader, Kelsey holds three OVAC titles as well as a regional title. 

Her interest in college cheerleading, however, ironically began at Ohio State. 

In 2016, after finishing a gymnastics meet in Columbus, she attended an Ohio State cheer clinic for fun and was hooked.  She continued to attend clinics and soon caught the attention of the coaches and team members, so she worked closely with them throughout high school, her mother noted.

Kelsey even attended a recruitment football game her senior year. 

“Kelsey thought maybe Ohio State is where she is supposed to be — after all she was born at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center to young Ohio State students,” her mother explained. The Crawfords adopted Kelsey at birth, but she grew up knowing her biological family and her Ohio State story. 

Growing up in a Catholic family, however, Notre Dame has always been a dream college for Kelsey, who excelled  academically but realized that gaining admission to Notre Dame is extremely difficult, especially as a first-generation Domer. 

Even so, Kelsey put together a strong application and began to reach out to the Notre Dame cheerleading coach.  She sent her videos and attended a clinic.  Once she gained restrictive early action admission, she became more involved with the Notre Dame cheerleading team. 

And after much consideration, in April 2020, she made the decision to attend the University of Notre Dame.

“Kelsey still had to complete the cheerleading try-out process by submitting a video that included tumbling, cheering, stunting, strength exercises and routines,” her mother explained. When the coach announced the team, Kelsey was the only female incoming freshman selected. 

Since that time, Kelsey has become a member of the gold team, the cheer competition team and the leadership team, and she helps choreograph new dances. 

Commented Kelsey, “When I made the team, I felt so honored to have the opportunity to represent the University of Notre Dame. It is something that I take pride in, and I strive to use my position to make a positive impact on others.” 

On Saturday when Kelsey takes the field at Ohio Stadium for a second time, it will be very special. 

She will reunite with her Ohio State cheerleader friends, and she will perform in front of family, friends and fans from the Ohio Valley. 

Looking back to 2016, Kelsey noted she always felt she would cheer on this field, but just didn’t realize it would be in an Irish uniform.

As she reflects on this special game, Kelsey commented, “I am so excited to be cheering on the Irish in the Shoe.  If you would’ve told me three years ago that I would be representing Notre Dame playing against Ohio State, I would have never considered it a possibility.  I can’t wait to reconnect with friends and family from Ohio State, but Go Irish!”

Aside from the Ohio State game, Kelsey is looking forward to other opportunities as a member of the Notre Dame cheerleading team.

“This season, I will have the opportunity to travel to the University of Southern California and to Las Vegas for the Shamrock Series against Brigham Young University,” she noted. “Next year, I will travel to Dublin, Ireland, for the Shamrock Series game against Navy. 

“What I am really excited about is the growth of our cheer program.  For the first time in its history, Notre Dame cheerleaders will compete in the Universal Cheerleaders Association college nationals at Walt Disney World,” she explained.

That happens in January. 

“These next two years will be very busy, but fun.”