This Homecoming was a memorable one with an amazing 70-7 win over Thomas Jefferson, but there was another show during halftime that was just as exciting. Having a homecoming court is a tradition as old as the homecoming game itself and homecoming would not be the same without the king and queen. Each class has one prince and princess, while the seniors have three couples. During half time everyone was escorted, usually by his or her parents, and the king and queen were crowned. This year the king and queen were Jordan Stewart and Emily Seracino.

For the freshmen, their prince was Cameron Karicher and princess was Daniela Arosemena. The sophomores’ prince and princess were Dayvon Marshall  and Katie Ngo.  Ajay Sharma and Marlene Howe were prince and princess for the juniors. The seniors had three couples: Stewart and Seracino; Andrew James and Maddie Harbin; and Jisu Lee and Dayana Lopez. The Podsters also had a prince and princess, Will Payne and Maggie Reca.

During the pep rallies each couple was introduced and walked out together, arm in arm. Each couple was given a huge round of applause, especially for the upperclassmen couples. When future King and Queen, Jordan and Emily, walked out the seniors chanted “Jemily”, their shipped name. Emily, who didn’t know people were going to shout that, said, “I thought it was really cute that everyone was cheering us on like that!”

All of the couples were in the annual Homecoming Parade, which goes around the neighborhood before the big game. Each rode in a retro Jaguar car, donated by the National Capital Jaguar Owners Club. The junior Prince, Ajay, even got to drive one of the several hundred thousand dollar cars and said, “It was crazy driving the car, I never put my foot on the gas pedal because I was scared it would go too fast, but otherwise it was so much fun.” Maddie also loved riding in a Jaguar saying, “It was my favorite thing we did!” All of the cars were extravagant, but the best part was that they were all Jaguars.

Homecoming started in the early 1900’s as a way to bring home alumni and promote school spirit. It is one of the quintessential American school traditions that has stood the test of time and become so much more than returning alumni.