"Love our Chieftains!" is the theme of the South Barber High School Basketball Homecoming.

This coming Friday, Feb. 12, SBHS in Kiowa, Kansas, holds their 2021 Basketball Homecoming as they host the Central Christian Cougars.

People wanting to attend homecoming need to remember the rules due to Covid. Each participant in this event receive four tickets they can share with whom they want. Participants include all the basketball team members, cheerleaders and students involved in homecoming. For example, each kindergarten helper, each attendant, etc., receives four tickets. A student who is a ball player already gets four tickets and will not get additional tickets if they are a part of the homecoming royalty.

Three senior young women were selected as queen candidates: Allie Hoch, Haylee Miller and Kate Perschbacher. Senior basketball escorts are Emilio Perez and Dane Coggins.

Underclassman attendants and their escorts are: freshmen Arrington Allen and Camron Dorsey; sophomores Zoe Bougoukalos and Brent Duncan and juniors Bianca Binning and Caden Rathgeber.

Kindergarten helpers are Luella Bogatay, daughter of Jonathan and Tamara Bogatay; Arhianna Pulliam, daughter of Aaron Pulliam and Alanna Sexton and granddaughter of Jim and Linda Pulliam; Taten Graves, son of Austin and Summer Graves; and Tacksen Ricke, son of Tyler and Cassidy Ricke.

The coronation is at halftime of the boys game.

Fans are celebrating their Chieftain spirit all week in anticipation of the hard court event with the following Dress Up Days: Monday – Sweet Dreams (Pajamas); Tuesday – Dress to Impress; Wednesday – Gender Bender; Thursday – Famous Couples/Duos; Friday – Love Our Chieftains (Black and Gold).

A pep rally Friday at 3 p.m. in the gym will get everyone fired up for the games. Each class is decorating a shopping cart (Thursday after school) that will be judged at the pep rally.

Meet the SB Queen Candidates

Allie Hoch is the daughter of Corona and Eric Hoch. She is FFA vice-president, Sunflower 4-H President and Barber County 4-H Council vice-president. She's earned the State FFA Degree and the 4-H Key Award and has been listed on the Principal's and Superintendent's Honor Rolls.

Hoch said she fills her spare time working with her show steer, working, reading and spending time with friends. She plans to attend Colby Community College in the fall. She'll major in business administration and management with a minor in accounting.

Haylee Miller is the daughter of Patricia Fortes. She recently passed the certified nurse aide certification and is currently studying to complete the certified medication aide certification. Miller attended the National Youth Leadership Conference and the Global Youth Leadership Conference in Washington D.C.

She works at the Kiowa District Manor and also Sideline. She enjoys knitting, spending time with her family and dogs, and helping others with their issues.

Next fall Miller plans to attend Wichita State University and major in pre-med and meet her goal to become a general surgeon.

Kate Perschbacher is the daughter of Brena and Ryan Perschbacher. At SBHS she is a yearbook photographer, a member of FCCLA and an American Red Cross Blood donor. She's listed on the Principals Honor Roll.

Rodeo is her passion. Perschbacher competes in barrels, team roping and breakaway in the Kansas High School Rodeo Association. She qualified for the High School National Finals her junior year. She enjoys roping with family and friends and also traveling.

With plans to become a cosmetologist, Perschbacher does the work/study program through the high school with Kiowa stylist Shannon Smith at her salon Style by Shannon. In the fall, she plans to attend Dodge City Community College as a member of the rodeo team.