Another year, another Homecoming, and (of course) another Homecoming Court. This year, 34 names appeared on the initial list of possible candidates. These girls were selected by the senior class, and this past Tuesday, any registered voter was given the opportunity to select 10 girls on that list that they felt deserved the title of Homecoming Queen.

Today, the names of the 10 girls that will be on the Homecoming court were announced. These girls are Patience Beard, Claire Howard, Laney Davis, Monica Ridgeway, Olivia Norton, Larkin Parks, Hillary Humphrey, Dee Remmes, Shea Smith and Taylor Coleman.

During the pep rally, the girls were escorted to the middle of the basketball court during an 80’s dance skit.

“I was the first one out there, so I was really confused and didn’t want to dance,” Smith said. “I was embarrassed, but [as I figured it out], I got excited.”

Remmes had a similar experience.

“I didn’t know what was going on,” Remmes said. “I was so confused and very surprised.”

Though Beard was at first unsure as to what the purpose of the skit was, she eventually realized why she had been pulled onto the gym floor.

“When I was first pulled onto the court, I had no idea what was going on,” Beard said. “I saw all of the other girls and finally figured it out. I was really excited. Being on court is such an honor.”

Davis shares Beard’s enthusiasm.

“[I am] really excited,” Davis said. “I was just happy to be on the ballot.”

Nerves ran high during the shortened school day.

“I’m shocked,” Humphrey said. “I was getting butterflies all day; I was counting down on the clock.”

For most of the girls, waiting all day to hear if they’d made court was not easy.

“I had a pit in my stomach all day,” Coleman said. “I was surprised that I had even made the first ballot. It hardly seems real.”

For Parks, senior year would not have been complete without Homecoming–and making court is just icing on the cake.

“I’m just really happy,” Parks said. “It just hit me that I’m a senior. I’m really glad people voted for me.”

After hearing that she’d made the first ballot, Howard refused to believe that she would make court.

“I was so nervous,” Howard said. “I didn’t want to get my hopes up before court was announced, but when DJ [Ingram] came and took my hand, I almost had a heart attack. It’s a really great group of girls this year.”

Ridgeway remembers seeing the previous courts and wanting to be a part of them.

“I love seeing all the girls looking pretty at the football game [and] I always wanted to be on court,” Ridgeway said. “It’s definitely exciting.”

Students will be given the opportunity to vote for Homecoming Queen on Wednesday, Oct. 12. The girl with the most votes will be announced on Friday, Oct. 14, at the Homecoming football game.

“I don’t really even know [how I feel],” Norton said. “This year hasn’t really been the best so far, but this just makes it awesome.”

(Elizabeth Cook & Autumn Sehy contributed to this story)