Just west of the practice field, clubs made last minute preparations for their floats. Homecoming candidates were waiting for their time to shine as they also prepared their waves and smiles.
Lauren Beckman of the Pre-Med Club was excited to be a part of Homecoming.
RELATED COVERAGE |
→ BC Renegades win last Saturday’s Homecoming game in a narrow 28-26 victory against L.A. Valley. SPORTS
→ Staff writer Ryan Knaggs explains why he thinks Homecoming doesn’t have much of a following at BC when compared to high school homecomings. OPINION |
“I’m very honored that the Pre-Med Club chose me to be their nominee for Homecoming queen,” she said.
The Phi Theta Kappa Club didn’t nominate any candidates but displayed a float during halftime.
Carlos Casamalhuapa, 23, a member of Phi Theta Kappa, was in attendance to get the club’s name out there.
“It’s a great opportunity to develop school spirit and to have fun,” he said.
Cherie Orton, a Homecoming queen candidate representing the Latter-day Saints Student Association, enjoyed herself before the game.
“Homecoming is a blast,” she said.
A king candidate who was running as an independent without a club was 17-year-old Jacob Hinijosa. He enjoyed the weeklong wacky activities that the candidates were involved in.
The Business Club’s float was equipped with a bloody guillotine to stay true to the medieval theme.
Jarred Grant, 21, was proud to have worked on the float.
“We know we got the bombest float out here,” he said. “We did it pretty much in one day.”
Judi Gamboa, 19, helped construct the impressive Engineering Club’s float, which was decked out with a fully operational catapult.
“Our instructor that leads our group, she’s been wanting to do one of these things for quite a few years,” she said, referring to the catapult. “Since the medieval theme fits in with Homecoming, she inspired us.”
“It was fun,” said Hill, who is scheduled for knee surgery. “I’ve done this every year for a while.”
Jennifer Zahey, an attorney in Bakersfield who also cheered with a lot of pride, echoed Hill’s sentiments.
It was fitting on a night of pageantry that the field was decorated in honor of the victims of the World Trade Center tragedy with a red, white and blue memorial ribbon in its center and the yard line numbers were displayed in red, white and blue.
This year’s homecoming king and queen were Rudy Gallicias and Diana Trigo from the Business Club.
“This is great, it’s an honor,” Gallicias said before being escorted out to the track.
Homecoming Queen Diana Trigo was thankful in her victory.
“I’m really excited to have won, and I would just like to thank everyone who voted because you really meant a lot,” she said.
The winning float belonged to the Engineering Club. The float displayed its catapult capabilities when it launched T-shirts into the crowd.