At Leesville’s Homecoming football game on Friday, September 25, 2026, this year’s homecoming king and queen were announced during halftime on the field.

Both the Homecoming king, Carter Hepp, and Homecoming queen, Wendi Watkins, are seniors. This year there were six boys nominated for king and seven girls nominated for queen.

In order to become a member of the Homecoming court, students must fill out a form where they nominate peers in their grade. From there, the nominations get narrowed down and the students with the most nominations are chosen to represent their grade on the homecoming court. Nominees must then create and submit a video campaigning for why they should be elected as homecoming king or queen.

Carter Hepp, senior, said over text, “I wanted to run for hoco court because a few of my friends had done it in the past and they had fun doing it.”

Hepp said the most challenging part of the Homecoming court process for him was having to wear fancy clothes during the football game, rather than participating in green out. Hepp said, “When I was announced [as] king, my first reaction was pride. I was proud of myself for achieving my goal and doing it in a fun way.”

When their names are announced for Homecoming king or queen, the recipient receives a crown and a sash to wear.

Wendi Watkins, senior, said over text, “I was very shocked, but also excited.”

Watkins said the Homecoming court experience as a whole was a chill and stress-free experience. Watkins said, “I’ve never [run for homecoming court] before and I thought it would be fun to try for senior year.”

Hepp and Watkins both gave advice for people considering running for homecoming court next school year. Hepp said, “One piece of advice I have for people considering running next year is to advertise yourself in a memorable way that will make the voters smile and laugh.”

Watkins said, “[My advice is to] just have fun with it, and remember that nobody will remember this years later or care anyway.”

Homecoming king and queen, as well as the Homecoming court in general, is a way to celebrate and recognize specific students at Leesville who have impacted their peers.