Between the men’s and women’s basketball games on Nov. 15, nominees for homecoming court stood waiting for results from the polls. Seniors Ty Belt and Shelby Richards were called forward and crowned king and queen by their fellow peers.
“Each club chose a club representative and then the classes nominated a class rep and three king/queen candidates,” junior Vivian Edmunson, executive homecoming director, said. “Then the entire student body votes for one queen and one king”
Edmunson was responsible for planning all student homecoming activities including: coordinating the parade and coronation, keeping track of all points for the club competitions and polling homecoming court selections.
“It was mostly an enjoyable experience but kind of hectic.” Edmunson said. “We did coronation between the girl’s and the guy’s game on Saturday. They had to show up by halftime of the girl’s game to get everyone ready. We did a practice coronation last Wednesday during chapel.”
Richards said she was nervous for the results.
“I was so nervous and I do not like being in front of people,” Richards said. “As far as king and queen announcement, I was just honored to be nominated. I liked all the nominees, so I think anyone of us would have made a great king or queen.”
Richards said she was surprised to be named homecoming queen.
“I found out I was nominated about a couple weeks before,” Richards said. “I got a text from another nominee saying ‘congrats,’ and I was confused because I had no idea what she was talking about.”
Belt said he was just as honored about the results of the court as some of the other representatives.
“It was shocking when I got the email from Vivian because I didn’t really expect it,” Belt said. “After I was nominated they had sort of a run off thing and then a week in-between the announcement and the coronation.”
Belt said being in homecoming court allowed him to see a side of homecoming that he had never seen before.
“My four years of being at OC, I had never had an inside look at what the homecoming was really like,” Belt said. “It was [an honor] to represent my student body like this and it was cool that my classmates thought of me as a leader.”
Belt and Richards said they believe all of the nominees were great choices and homecoming court does a good job of truly representing different grades and clubs.
“One of the coolest things to see was how the people have stood next to me during the coronation have grown because I have known them for the four years I have been here,” Belt said. “That was kind of like a sentimental moment I guess you could say. My mom escorted me and came all the way from Mesquite, Texas. I think she made it more emotional.”
Belt and Richards will return to homecoming next year to assist in crowning the new homecoming king and queen.
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