School spirit encompasses a wide range of school activities, such as band, drama, robotics, athletics and art, and no one has more school spirit than southwest Michigan.

I want to extend my congratulations to the Coloma Comets for winning this year’s Southwest Michigan Spirit Tournament championship.

Coming off impressive Final Four victories, the final round matchup between the River Valley Mustangs and Coloma had the anticipation of an exciting championship match — and it lived up to that expectation. In the end, the Comets emerged as champions, earning nearly 10,000 points on Facebook alone.

I sponsored this spirit tournament to give southwest Michigan students and communities an opportunity to showcase their school pride in a manner that inspired creativity.

The social networking contest spanned five weeks and featured 31 area high schools, which were divided into four brackets named for features that characterize our region. Thousands of students participated by voting in online polls and submitted photos on Facebook and Twitter to score points for their school.

As the champion, Coloma High School will be presented with a traveling trophy and will also receive a special tribute commending the school for the spirit of its students and community. The tribute will be signed by me; Rep. Kim LaSata, R-Bainbridge Township; Congressman Fred Upton; Lt. Gov. Brian Calley and Gov. Rick Snyder.

The community of Coloma should be proud of the spirit and teamwork they displayed throughout the competition.

It was awesome to see the tremendous response to this tournament by students, alumni and residents, and I want to thank everyone who shared their love for their school and their community. The phenomenal participation made this year’s contest such a wonderful success.

Residents may see all the submitted photos for the championship round by visiting my Facebook fan page, John Proos Supporters Page.

JOHN PROOS, R-St. Joseph, represents the 21st District, which includes Berrien, Cass and St. Joseph counties.