During halftime at the Homecoming football game against Mills High on Sept. 23, the school inaugurated this year’s homecoming royalty.

The court included freshmen AJ Bawa, Jena Lew and Katherine Zeng; sophomores Alan Cai and Naahur Saajwan; juniors Abhinav Kiran and Nikhil Mathihalli; and seniors Julian Berkowitz-Sklar, Jeremiah Chung, Shafin Haque, Allison Tan, Taylor Wilson and Zachary Zinman.

The event was planned by the spirit commission: sophomores Emmy Pak and Lucie Le Toquin and seniors Nadine Cobourn, Arshi Chawla and Ela Machiroutu. 

In a change from previous years, the commission only held one round of voting for court selections. The traditional second round of voting was canceled to prevent unhealthy competition among students, resulting in six senior court members.

Leading the school’s annual procession of fall sports athletes were alumni from the Class of ‘72 who returned in celebration of their 50-year reunion. Students representing teams such as water polo — shirtless, as according to tradition — and dance marched behind them, waving school banners and cheering on their programs.

The royalty procession came after: Court members paraded around the track in retro vehicles such as Ford Thunderbirds, with two students in each car. They then walked through an array formed by the athletes and an arc of balloons, while a short pre-written snippet of their choosing was read by stadium announcers.

Zinman, who walked alongside Chung during the procession, described the honor as one of his most memorable high school experiences.

“It was really fun to ride on the back of a cool car,” Zinman said. “My favorite part had to be the crown, but to see all of my friends that I’ve made throughout high school in one crowd, cheering me on, is an image that’s been imprinted in my mind. I’m so honored that my peers selected me to be part of the Homecoming royalty.”