After an anticipated wait on who the crown will go to, it was proudly announced that Dylan Meiners and Jenna Dallenbach are the OHS 2021 Homecoming King and Queen. Coronation took place Oct. 1 in the OHS gym. 

Homecoming court in Owatonna is a huge tradition and something that everyone looks forward to. OHS Principal Mr. Kory Kath said, “I think the whole purpose of the homecoming court is truly about honoring students that embody good character within our school.” The importance of royalty being elected is to give students that moment to be recognized for their integrity. 

The court is voted on by the students and only the students. Seniors first vote for top twelve, followed by seniors and juniors voting for top five and lastly the whole student body votes for king and queen. Principal Mr. Kath said, “What I really appreciate is that the top twelve tends to be a wide variety of students, people that excel in so many different areas, or have connections in so many different areas of our school.” Homecoming is a great way to honor seniors after being involved over their four years in high school. 

This year has been pretty similar to all the previous years with the voting for royalty. The same tradition applies on who votes for who. Although, something different this year is that the voting turnout was much higher than normal. Student Council Adviser Ms. Sandra Justice said, “Statistics wise we’re actually above average in the number of votes that we normally have turned in and so we’ve had really good participation from the students.” The above average student participation is awesome considering this year is the first normal homecoming since 2019. 

After three rounds of the voting process, OHS Homecoming 2021 King is Dylan Meiners. He is involved in cross country, tennis, robotics, Knowledge Bowl, Student Council and NHS. This year, he is looking forward to taking AP Calculus ll with Mr. Maine. His favorite memory from high school so far was taking AP Statistics with Nic Pilcher. In the future, he plans to major in aerospace engineering and fly in the United States Air Force. There are many rewarding things about being Homecoming royalty. Meiners said, “It’s a good recognition from your peers. It means a lot to be because it shows that people appreciate you. It’s just an honor.” This is a huge honor awarded and lots will be taken away from it. Something Meiners would say to his younger self is “don’t change.” Meiners is ready for the week ahead and the fun instore. 

The OHS 2021 Homecoming Queen is Jenna Dallenbach. She is involved in Student Council, SHOC, DECA, DIG, Green Team and Girls United. This year, she is looking forward to making new memories with classmates and graduating. Her favorite memory so far from high school is the school dances. In the future, she plans to attend a four- year university somewhere warm. She hopes to do something with design or interior design. There are so many rewarding things about Homecoming court and being honored. Dallenbach said, “It is a really surreal feeling to be recognized for your character and it means a lot to me.” This is something one would love to tell their younger self how they felt in the moment, how amazing it was and all the emotions from it. Dallenbach said,  “Who would have thought?” 

The tradition of Homecoming court at OHS is a big deal and most who win are humbly surprised and grateful. The Class of 2022 has missed out on a lot along with many other classes and students, but something rewarding is to finally have a normal homecoming for their senior year. Dallenbach said, “