Amid the sea of pink and tension between the two girls basketball teams, the King candidates filed out to the middle of the gym in alphabetical order during halftime. One after the other, the Courtwarming candidates stood, anticipating the crowning of a king.

Everyone stood silently and politely, perking their ears up as the announcer finally proclaimed Bo Bell had won.
Bell, escorted by senior and still suited-up basketball player Carmen Boessen, exchanged a hug and high five as Boessen jogged to the locker room to prepare for the second half against Helias, where the score was 30-17. Being first to walk across the gym, Bell showed support for his fellow candidates.
“It was great just to stand out there and be able to clap for the other guys,” Bell said. “It was pretty cool.”
Crowned by last year’s king, Michael Wang, Bell remained humble during the crowning. Throughout the first half, instead of fretting about whether he would win or not, his mind was on the basketball team and its performance.
“I pretty much wanted the ref to stop calling fouls on us down low,” Bell said. “It was some pretty poor calls down there, but we still got the lead.”
Even though tomorrow is a school day, a Thursday night crowning will not stop Bell from celebrating. On his agenda after tonight’s game is a simple get-together with the students he’s gotten to know through the Courtwarming activities and friendly competition.
Bell will “probably go out with all [the] candidates and go get some ice cream of something.”
He is expected to return next year to crown the 2013 Courtwarming king.
See pictures and a video of the crowning here.
By Kaitlyn Marsh, Daphne Yu and Parker Sutherland