Andrews – Juliana Aiken is seemingly everywhere for the Wildcats.
Andrews High School’s super senior added another title to her resume Friday, when she was named the 2019 homecoming queen on a rainy evening at Hugh Hamilton Stadium. Aiken was joined by fellow seniors Mariela Jimenez, Paige Hooper and Sydney Postell as candidates for queen.
“It’s really exciting to win. But I was out there with three of my best friends, so either way I would have been happy,” Aiken said.
Aiken is known for doing it all on Friday nights, as she goes from playing the national anthem with the Pride of the Valley Marching Band to rooting on the Wildcats as captain of the cheerleading team, then back to the band for halftime to help lead the group’s award-winning performance.
She also participates in swimming, track and golf, and is a member of the Beta Club, National Honors Society, Chick-fil-A Leader Academy and student council. After high school, Aiken plans to attend the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to work toward a degree in biomedical engineering.
The 10 members of the homecoming court and their fellow students went through miserable rain in the afternoon to hold the annual homecoming parade down Main Street. The students were undaunted in their celebration of the event, though most of the candy thrown went unclaimed as streets flooded in the deluge.
When the game began Friday night, rain was still coming down in buckets. The cheerleaders’ paper quickly melted before the players could run through it.
The girls scrapped plans to wear fancy shoes to match their beautiful gowns, trading them in for rain boots.
“It’s definitely been crazy and an adjustment, but we have really made the best of it,” Aiken said of the wild day of preparation.
One blessing came when the rain finally subsided just before halftime.
“God is good for sure,” Aiken said of the respite from the downpour.