Spirit Lake High School homecoming coronation and parade 2022

Spirit Lake's 2022 homecoming court consisted of Eric Wallrich, Drew Alger, Jake Cornwall, Tyler Voss, scepter-bearer Creighton Trautman, homecoming king Kaleb Lee, homecoming queen Taylor Schneider, flower girl Kennedy Trautman, Aubrey Duis, Olivia Vogel, Mikayla Mingus and Emma Henrickson. This year's king and queen were crowned Sept. 28 during an evening ceremony at the Sami Bedell Center for the Performing Arts. The Spirit Lake dance team performed their hip hop routine, the cheer squad led the audience in the school fight song and representatives of various district teams — as well as the school's marching band — spoke from the stage. Students also competed in a trivia contest, attempting to identify photos of both the homecoming court and district employees when they were young. Spirit Lake capped homecoming week with a 45-0 win over rival Estherville Lincoln Central on Friday night.

Spirit Lake alum Dr. Jeremy Bolluyt was named as this year's grand marshal. Organizers said 2022 marked the third time Bolluyt had participated in the district's coronation — first as a young scepter-bearer, then as part of the 1990 homecoming court and this year as the grand marshal. The night's hosts said Bolluyt's trio of appearances is likely a record among Spirit Lake alumni. The grand marshal encouraged all those in attendance to thank individuals who chose to return to the community and make it their home, adding that is what homecoming is all about and saying that championships are second only to friendships. (Photos by Seth Boyes)