Nease named homecoming king

Homecoming king Seth Nease turns to his mother upon hearing his name announced as king.

Upon joining the homecoming court last week, senior Seth Nease immediately began campaigning–for opponent Isaac Kizziar.

“I would tell everyone, ‘Vote for Isaac!’” Nease said. “It was a joke we had. He’d say, ‘Vote for Seth!’ and I’d say, ‘Vote for Isaac!’”

But despite his campaigning, Nease was named homecoming king at last night’s powderpuff game.

Nease joined the 2018 homecoming court last week along with Kizziar, Brett Cobb and Lawton Rikel. Queen nominees Maggie Bell, Candain Callahan, Emily Thurman and Brylee Winfrey will be honored at 6:30 p.m. before the homecoming football game when one of them will be named queen. Nease said upon discovering he was king, he was somewhat upset.

“I was like, ‘Sweet, I won!’ but then I was like, ‘Dang it, Isaac didn’t win,’” Nease said. “Isaac’s one of my closest friends. I really wanted him to win.”

Isaac’s one of my closest friends. I really wanted him to win.

— Seth Nease, 12

Kizziar said Nease is the type of person who makes an effort to connect to those he does not already know.

“I wasn’t surprised that Seth was crowned,” Kizziar said  “We have been hyping each other up for so long, it seemed almost natural for him to win.”

Nease was nominated as a class favorite last year and said he has made many friends in other grades.

“I’m a relatively accepting person, and I’m always open to hugs,” Nease said. “I love people, so even if someone wrongs me, I’m still going to forgive them. I will unconditionally love people.”

Before the coronation, Nease and the rest of the court drove new vehicles in the homecoming parade.

“I drove a really nice truck from Greg Lair,” Nease said. “The parade started, and I don’t think I went above 4 miles an hour the entire time. I was stopped for a good part of it, but I recognized a lot of people. It was cool.”

While Nease said he would not place any bets on who becomes homecoming queen, he predicted Bell will win.

“She’s heavily involved in the band, so it’s like everybody in the band knows who Maggie is,” Nease said. “The band is probably our biggest presence inside the school. It would make sense for Maggie to win.”