CJ Holmes and Madi Frye were crowned king and queen over the weekend as Hayes High School celebrated Homecoming.
The pair, seniors at Hayes, said Tuesday they were surprised by their coronation.
“I knew I was going to be nominated but winning was still a shock to me,” Holmes said. “There’s a lot of people at this school. … I try not to stay with one group of people. I want to know everyone and get on the good side of people. I socialize a lot with different people, but you never know.”
Frye said it was “a really cool feeling” when she realized she and Holmes had won.
“I was really happy!” Frye said. “He’s my best friend, and we do everything together, so being able to have a memory like winning king and queen together is exciting.”
Being crowned over the weekend made returning to school on Monday more fun, Frye said.
“It was really funny. A lot of my teachers would crack jokes about teaching royalty and even some of my classmates would say, ‘Here comes the queen’ when I saw them in the halls,” Frye said. “I think it was a fun refresher from experiencing the same thing every day at school.”
Holmes agreed, adding he enjoyed the recognition.
“My teachers were really supportive,” Holmes said. “It was a fun experience.”
Frye said after high school she plans to study to be an art teacher, and Holmes said he has yet to decide on a major, but noted it will most likely be math related.
Hayes Principal Dr. Ric Stranges said this year’s Homecoming dance, which was held at Cornell Stadium instead of inside the school, was attended by more than 850 students. Stranges said the venue change was positively received, and Hayes may do it again next year.
“When you’re in a school, you’re always learning,” Stranges said. “I think what this has taught us is that there’s always a different way to celebrate with students. If you look at a different way of celebrating, you learn this is actually better.”
Stranges said he’s glad the school was able to hold the event for students.
“Our students count on us to create long-lasting memories,” he said. “A record number of students came to Homecoming. I’m glad we did it and learned something.”
