ND cheer chooses 2023-24 leprechauns

Four students selected to lead the Fighting Irish next year after rounds of tryouts

By PETER BREEN

a

ssociate news e ditor

notre dame cheerleading selected four leprechauns for the 2023-2024 school year, the notre dame leprechaun instagram account announced sunday, april 23.

a fter a multistep tryout involving open clinics, a written application, an audition video and several live performances, mcKenna englhardt, colin mahoney, Kylee Kazenski and ryan coury were chosen to lead the Fighting irish in spirit next year. since the leprechaun became the university’s official mascot in 1965, coury said there have been 67 leprechauns in total. englhardt and Kazenski are the third and fourth women to sport the mascot’s iconic bucket hat and green suit.

Leprechaun McKenna englhardt is a first-year from palo a lto, california studying mechanical engineering. growing up, englhardt said she competed in irish dance and was nicknamed the “little leprechaun” by her hometown friends. englhardt’s parents were the same year at notre dame, but they first met at a bar in san Francisco 10 years later, she said. w hen it came time to shoot the one-to-two-minute audition video as part of the leprechaun application, englhardt said her lifelong affinity for lucky charms came in handy. w ith a friend’s help, englhardt filmed a comical skit that hinted at her fitness for the leprechaun role because of englhardt’s irish dancing background and love for the marshmallow cereal.

“i grew up doing the whole notre dame thing,” englhardt said.