Students kicked off Winter Homecoming with spirit week starting on Feb. 10. The theme this year was Paradise Escape. 

After a week filled with competitive events, the homecoming game was held on Feb. 14 against the Belle Plaine Dragons. The Cardinals played hard and kept their heads up during the head-to-head game. They gave their all but came short of winning. It was a rough night for the Cardinals. The girls lost 39-51, followed by the boys game. The boys didn’t fare well either, losing in a very competitive game as well, 49-54. 

“We played the best we could,” senior Kyler Alloway said. “We just had our rough spots we couldn’t come back from.” 

After the games were over, the senior candidates lined up. The queen candidates this year were Kylie Ast, Kelly Doffing, Tori Kunz and Taylor Schulte. The king candidates were Kyler Alloway, Luke Bellar, Gavin Dalbom and Jack Ebenkamp. After they walked in, the winners of Homecoming were announced. This year’s Winter Homecoming queen was Ast. 

“I honestly never thought I would be a candidate, let alone crowned as Homecoming Queen,” he said. “I was very surprised and grateful all in one.”

The Winter Homecoming king was Bellar. 

“I didn’t expect to win Homecoming King,” he said. “I was in a state of shock when it happened. So many emotions were coursing through me I didn’t know how to feel.”