Homecoming King and Queen Crowned

The University of Central Oklahomas 2018 Homecoming King and Queen were announced Saturday, with Stockton Duvall and Hannah Mette taking the crowns.

“It means a lot that the students put their trust in me,” Duvall said. “It really means a lot that they would vote me as their king.”

Duvall is the former UCO student body president and is currently a part of Leaders of Tomorrow (LOT), which he represented in homecoming.

“Through all of those, they’ve connected me with new people [and gave me] better connections,” Duvall said. “I’m just extremely thankful for those organizations.”

When Mette, who represented Alpha Xi Delta during Homecoming, heard that she had won, her mouth dropped.

“Being homecoming queen is just everything that it means to be a Broncho,” Mette said. “It’s amazing that they saw that in me, and that [the students] see that I have the qualities of what it means to be a Broncho.”

Mette started her college life as the executive director of the now-defunct Freshman Activities Board. She was immediately thrust into the Broncho life, and it started to snowball into other areas.

“When I joined my freshman year, I never imagined that I would be here my senior year,” Mette said. “It’s just crazy to look back at all of the organizations I was in these past three years; just truly giving my time and having quality relationships built with people.”

Being named the homecoming queen was the last thing Mette expected.

“I’m so proud to represent UCO,” Mette said. “It’s really exciting that a school that’s shaped my life, I now get to represent in that way.”

Both Duvall and Mette said they developed close bonds with the other candidates and would have been happy with any outcome.

“Truthfully, if I would have lost to any of the other candidates, I would have been OK with it,” Duvall said. “They are four individuals who have given all four years to UCO and have devoted a lot of time.”

Having been a part of UCO Leadership Academy, Alpha Xi Delta, a leadership ambassador, amongst other organizations, Mette said she’s just proud to be a Broncho.

“All of those areas, they really shaped my entire experience and my entire view of what it means to go to UCO,” Mette said.

A week of events revolving around UCO’s 101st homecoming theme, “Cirque Du Central,” worked to raise funds and support for this year’s philanthropy, Ally’s House. This nonprofit organization provides financial support to pediatric cancer families in Oklahoma.

Throughout the week, students volunteered and collected donations for Ally’s House. The Homecoming Activities Board announced Sunday night that $19,567.49 was raised for Ally’s House, $8,000 more than what was raised last year.

One of the events that helped raised money was Giveback Night at the Garage, where a portion of the proceeds went to the philanthropy. The annual cheer and dance competition was another large event that raised money over Thursday and Friday, which was the first time the competition has been split into two days.

Students could attend the competition for free if they acquired tickets beforehand, while others paid $5. The cheer and dance competition involved different organizations around campus performing a dance routine with a short cheer. Organizations involved were split into three categories: male, female and mixed gender.

Last year, Sigma Tau Gamma won the competition and had a video of their performance go viral, currently with 6.6 million views on Facebook, in an effort to raise money for Special Olympics.

This year’s winners were Beta Upsilon Chi for the male organization, Sigma Kappa for the female organization and the President’s Leadership Council for the mixed gender organization.

Other events held throughout the week included the Bronze and Blueberry Breakfast, Bronchtoberfest, Rock the Block, crafts by Broncho Lake, the homecoming carnival and football game.