Leah Wegner remembers as a freshman watching the Homecoming Court parading at the football game.
"Oh, my gosh, I want to be one of those girls," she thought.
On Monday, she was introduced to the Carson High School student body as one of six candidates for this year's Homecoming Queen.
"It's so exciting," she said.
Monday's pep assembly kicked off a week of activities leading up to Homecoming on Friday. Classes competed for spirit points, with the juniors winning the scavenger hunt by collecting a brown belt and a red shoe before the other classes.
Candidates were introduced by revealing humorous tidbits about themselves.
Chance Quilling said his favorite pickup line was: "Excuse me, I think you have something in your eye. Nope, it's just a sparkle."
Zach Bruce and Emily Collins came out on in-line skates, and Zach revealed his motto to be, "I know I don't look like much now, but I'm drinking milk."
The assembly concluded with an obstacle course where candidates had to pop balloons filled with egg yolks and chocolate pudding, find color-coded keys in a pool of spaghetti, then use their faces to root through a tin of flour to find a piece of bubble gum.
The first one to blow a bubble was declared the winner.
Amber Holbert emerged victorious.
Friday's winner, she said, will be harder to predict.
"I don't have any idea," she said. "This is a good group, and we all get along really well."
But for Austin Pacheco - who made national news this football season with a 64-yard, game-winning field goal - some things are more important than the crown.
"I'd rather win the game," he said.
Homecoming King candidates
Chance Quilling
Zach Bruce
Tim Grunert
Logan Peternell
Austin Pacheco
Dylan Sawyers
Homecoming Queen candidates
Leah Wegner
Emily Collins
Kristen Good
Amber Holbert
Camilla Dudley
Sarah Hernandez