by Isabella Weisman, junior

On Friday, September 27, HHS students gathered in the Lindbergh Center for the 2013 Homecoming pepfest. Everyone watched as the Homecoming Royalty winners were crowned.

Every year HHS students nominate their peers to be the Homecoming Royalty. Sophomores are nominated for prince and princess, juniors for duke and duchess, and seniors for king and queen.

The nominees for king and queen included Jae Bates and Kaylee Grunseth, seniors, along with Austin Oakes and Meg Jenny, seniors who won. There were other nominees as well.

Cassidy Lynn Campbell, a transgender, won her school’s Homecoming Queen title in Huntington Beach, CA the week before.

Jae Bates would have joined her as the first transgender Homecoming King.

“It was great that we were even nominated,” Grunseth said. “In our hearts we won. Jae made his mark on the high school and we made history.”

Bates and Grunseth also got their story to be told by KARE 11 news channel.

Couples that were nominated asked friends to spread the word of their candidacy, and the majority of the votes were for Oakes and Jenny.

“We didn’t tell people who to vote for, it just happened,” Jenny said. “It’s just special because Austin and I will remember that forever, and it’s really amazing to have wonderful peers and family support.”

Although there is no official duties that Homecoming King and Queen must do, Oakes is proud that he and Jenny were nominated to represent the student body.

“It’s really exciting and is such an honor to have been selected,” Oakes said.

Oakes and Jenny fulfilled that HHS tradition of being crowned, recapping homecoming week, and preparing students to show their school pride at the football game later that night.

“I was just so lucky to be nominated, everyone up there was amazing. It was an incredible experience, and I’m still in shock!” Jenny said.