UPDATE: After the student body voted during lunch, the homecoming princess for each class was presented at halftime of the varsity game, Oct. 3. Tatiana Fontes won the position for the juniors, Ashlyn White for the sophomores and Brooke Stobbe for the freshmen.

“I was watching Mr. [Aaron] Bryan’s mouth to see what he would say,” White said. “When I heard him say my name I was ecstatic because I didn’t think I would win. It’s cool to be nominated because it means a lot of people like you.”

Few expect princesses to battle each other in mud fights and overcome disgust to down a concoction of mystery ingredients chosen at random. However, on Sept. 30, the princess candidates of each class disregarded their “royal” status to sway the voters in their favor.

“I was really excited when I found out I was nominated, but when I started hearing about the princess pageant I freaked out,” sophomore nominee Ashlyn White said. “I didn’t want to have to eat cat food like they had to last year.”

For the annual pageant, student leadership created a swamp setting for the princesses’ competition.

“It was really gross,” Bree Ainley, ’11, said. “The princesses really got into it. They were not timid at all and were very willing. I was surprised they actually chugged their full cups of ‘gumbo.'”

The girls first had to drink a cup of blended orange juice and canned vegetables. They then dug through a slop of mayonnaise, salsa, lettuce, dirt and water in search of plastic and rubber frogs.

“The worst part was drinking the chili, orange juice and carrot medley,” junior nominee Tatiana Fontes said. “I loved digging through the mud and getting vicious, pushing the freshmen around.”

Nominee Brooke Stobbe and her team dominated in the freshman mud toss but all were soon distracted by a free-for-all brawl through the ooze.

“I have no idea who won,” freshman nominee Darlene Idsinga said. “I was too busy paying attention to who was going to dump something down my shirt.”

Although the nominees participated in the pageant at the expense of their hygiene, White valued the entertainment aspect for her peers.

“I hope [the students] had a good time watching it,” White said. “We tried to make it more interesting by throwing mud and stuff among ourselves.”

Along with the legendary king dance and queen pageant, many students anticipate the princess extravaganza.

“The fun parts were just watching them attack each other,” Shane Darakjian, ’09, said. “The most memorable pageant was my freshman year, because Jessica [Mesple, ’09] ate a goldfish.”

Now with the princess pageant completed, White looks forward to homecoming night, regardless of the outcome.

“I’m excited to see the results of voting,” White said. “It’s a special night for my dad and I that we will look back at and remember.”

Homecoming week will continue with the queen pageant bash and include a video before lunch in Ground Zero, Oct. 2. The kings will dance before lunch in Ground Zero, Oct. 3. The JV and varsity football teams will play Fresno High and Kings Christian respectively at Clark Intermediate, starting at 5:30 p.m., Oct. 3.

The voting results for princess, queen and king will be announced during halftime of the varsity game.

Floats will be displays during halftime of the varsity game. For more information on the class floats, visit Bluegrass motif dominates freshman float, Sophomore float clashes rap eras and Seniors plan final float hurrah.