Friday night at Eagle Stadium is always football night, but on Sept. 30 it will also be the night the homecoming king and queen are crowned. The 10 members of the homecoming court come from several different clubs and programs including athletics, Escadrille, choir, National Honor Society, DOLLS and broadcast. As they step onto the field, one question lingers in the minds of the students and alumni watching: who will be the next homecoming king and queen?

Senior Cameron Koutney thought about homecoming court as a great opportunity to represent the many clubs and organizations she participates in.

“I’ve been a Tallenette for four years, and for the past two years, I’ve been chaplain,” Koutney said. “I lead Bible studies throughout the team, and this is also my fourth year being a PAL. Outside of school, I’m involved in Young Life where I work with special needs kids and the blind.”

Koutney hopes that if she wins, she will be able to celebrate with her friends, family and teammates.

“I think that winning homecoming queen would show others that your uniqueness is not your weakness,” said senior Allison Corona Del Cid, a member of Chorale, DOLLS, National Honor Society and National Spanish Honor Society. “Be yourself. Accept others no matter what they come from.”

Corona Del Cid hopes her message will resonate with the student body. If she wins the crown, Corona Del Cid said, “I’ll probably hug every living person that I see.”

Senior Stacee Rowland, an athletic trainer and FCA leader, ran for the court to tell girls with her skin color that they could do the same.

“A lot of African-American girls felt like they couldn’t make homecoming court just because they were African-American,” Rowland said. “I wanted to show girls of my skin color that they’re beautiful. ”

Rowland doesn’t believe the race is competitive, as she is friends with Corona Del Cid.

“We’ve all been really cool about it: not like ‘Don’t vote for her,’ we don’t do that kind of stuff,” she said.

Senior Caroline Dahl, a PAL and co-founder of the new strategic board game club, was inspired to enter the race by her father.

“My dad really encouraged me,” Dahl said. “He just really wants to be on the field with me.”

Dahl, who was very excited for the dance, added, “I think every year at the dance me and my group just have so much fun dancing. I just love the dance so much.”

“I just thought it was like a really weird Texas thing at first,” candidate Lexi Norris said about competing for the title of queen. “Then I was like, ‘I kind of want to do that.’”

Lexi, a member of National Honor Society and IB Art, hopes to represent the student body well in the court.

“[If I win], I’ll probably just have a good time at the dance and have a good time at the game,” Norris said.

As president of the marching band, vice president of poetry club and a broadcast producer on the announcements, senior Bryce Madrid is no stranger to the leadership position that comes with the homecoming king crown. However, the race for homecoming king is a competitive one.

“I’ve been told that it’s close between me and a few other people,” Madrid said. “It’s open, and I think it should be whoever the high school thinks should be the homecoming king.”

Senior Mason Norris was convinced to run for homecoming court by his peers.

“It was kind of one of those things that my friends had asked me to do and felt that I was the kind of person to do it,” Norris said.

Mason, a PAL who has been on the varsity football team for three years, is looking forward to Friday’s game against Plano West.

“Being king would be fun,” he said. “But we’ll be winning right before the game and we have the game to do, so I’ll be more focused on the game. I’ll celebrate after the game, just with a couple of friends.”

Senior Zach Love, a member of choir, theatre and PALS, wants to represent his multiple clubs in the race for king.

“I think that all of these organizations coming together and being more of a united thing… I thought it would be fun,” he said.

“My favorite part of homecoming is the mums,” he said. “I love going to the mum shop and picking out my date’s mum for the exchange. Seeing everybody’s mums at school on Friday is my favorite part.”

Senior Braylon Newhouse, a member of the track team, entered the race in order to run alongside a friend.

“Someone just asked me to run with them–Stacee,” he said. “I was like, ‘Yeah, I got you.’”

Senior Jake Johnson, who is involved in cross country, soccer, Ping Pong Club, NHS and Student Council applied for the court to represent his school.

“I figured I really need to represent my school in a big way, such as homecoming court,” Johnson said about why he decided to run.

Johnson’s campaigning experience with the court has encouraged him to branch out socially.

“I’ve talked to a lot of different people and gotten to know my competitors a little bit,” he said. “I think I’ll have to be more outgoing in classes, talk to people and try and get votes. It’s really fun, it’s been a cool experience and I have to say I’m enjoying it.”