Written by Lily Amback / News & Opinion editor and Pax Bilinski Opinion & News editor
The yearly tradition of naming a prom king and queen is cherished by all who run. At prom this year, there were a total of five couples—10 individuals—running for prom court.
On April 11, the night of prom, the contestants found out which one of them was bestowed with the crown.
The running contestants were seniors Samantha Gooding and Liam Atkinson, Elliot Nicholson and Cooper Hurst, Brooke Tanksley and Jonah Miller, Jayme Ransdell and Aiden Redmon, and Stephanie Cooper and Harrison Carr.
Gooding and Atkinson won winter homecoming earlier this year.
“Me and Samantha (Gooding) just think it would be super cool to be able to say we have won prom king and queen along with the other courts we have won,” Atkinson said.
Gooding and Atkinson have been dating for a little over two years.
The next couple has been dating for a little less than three years. Nicholson convinced Hurst to run to continue her family legacy of prom court winners.
“My dad won prom king, and I thought it was the coolest thing ever when I was younger. So, I wanted to win it with Cooper so my kids can see that I ran for it. It’s also just so fun to dress up and wear a crown,” Nicholson said.
Next, Tanksley and Miller have been friends for about five years and dating for two years. They are running purely for the experience and to live up to the highest high school potential.
“I ran for prom court because it just felt like a fun experience and something I’d look back on and be glad I did,” Tanksley said. “Senior year goes by fast, so I’m trying to take every opportunity to enjoy it and make memories with my friends. I’m not running with any expectations of winning; I just wanted to be part of something fun and soak up the moment.”
Ransdell and Redmon, the next couple in the prom court lineup, have been together for a year and a half. Their reasoning was quite similar to Tanksley’s and Miller’s.
“We wanted to run for prom court as a fun way to add to senior year memories,” Ransdell said.
The last pair on prom court are Cooper and Carr, but they are not the traditional court couple.
“I was inspired by the fact that only people who date go. I wanted to run and show people you can just run for fun as well and to try to experience new things,” Cooper said.
Carr agreed to run for court with Cooper as a friend because he found her motive to be inspirational.
“It really means a lot to Stephanie (Cooper) to become prom queen, and her passion and desire to achieve this goal is so inspiring,” Carr said.
Late into prom, the court and winners were announced. While many celebrated Cooper and Carr’s win, others weren’t as sportsmanlike.
“It felt very good to be prom queen, but others would disagree. I actually have pictures of people giving us a thumbs down after we were crowned, and, for me, that’s very embarrassing and silly,” Cooper said. “I would be happy for anyone to win.”
Cooper and Carr believe their victory is thanks to their wide friend group.
“I think I won because I know a lot of people. I have junior friends who told people to vote (for) me, but I also have friends like (senior) Lorelai Pucillo to get the people in band to vote for me,” Cooper said.
With their win secured, Cooper and Carr were free to spend the rest of the night having the time of their lives.
“Prom was so much fun this year. I think it felt a lot more freeing to dance and not really care what anyone else thought,” Carr said.
