A group of Kent Roosevelt High School students, along with Portage Sports owner Tom Nader and Roosevelt athletic director Ben Dunlap (far right), pose with the Golden Basketball Trophy after accepting the honor at a presentation on Wednesday morning.
Robin Golden/Special to Portage Sports

By Tom Nader

Publisher and Editor

The Portage Sports Golden Basketball Trophy was placed in a trophy case outside of Kent Roosevelt’s competition gymnasium following Wednesday’s presentation. Robin Golden/Special to Portage Sports

Portage Sports proudly presented Kent Roosevelt with its Golden Basketball Trophy on Wednesday morning.

The Rough Riders were awarded the honor for their school spirit shown throughout the 2024-25 high school basketball season.

The trophy is awarded annually in a competition amongst student fan sections throughout the course of the season, with weekly grades that include eight different categories: Theme creativity, theme participation, attendance, chant volume, chant creativity, spirit signs, sportsmanship and overall game environment.

On Wednesday, during a presentation inside the Roosevelt competition gymnasium, Portage Sports owner Tom Nader delivered the trophy to a group of Roosevelt students, with Max Kenworthy accepting the trophy on behalf of the student section.

“The Rider Rowdies were thrilled to be presented with the Portage Sports Golden Basketball Trophy,” Kent Roosevelt athletic director Ben Dunlap said. “The student-led group has done an amazing job creating a great game-day atmosphere for not only our boys and girls basketball games, but really all of our sports. They are extremely creative with their themes and always bring tremendous energy to our games.”

The trophy that was presented to Roosevelt was a gold leather basketball that featured a mural paint design that was conceptualized and painted by Tallmadge High School art teacher Ali Eads.

In previous years, the Golden Basketball Trophy has been won by Mogadore (2023) and Crestwood (2024).