Recap of last weekend’s Nokomis Homecoming

NOKOMIS — Many events unfolded last weekend during the annual Nokomis Homecoming celebration inside Nokomis Memorial Park. A breakdown of the events that unfolded are included as follows:

New Nokomis Homecoming royalty crowning

A new group of Homecoming royalty was crowned at the pageants on Friday, July 7.

Audrey Sabol is the newest Miss Nokomis, succeeding the role from 2022 winner Kaylee Tester. Faith Morrison was the first runner-up. Members of the Queen’s Court include Alyssa Huddleston and Jada Koontz.

Mila Heldebrandt is the newest Junior Miss Nokomis. She succeeds 2022 winner Avry West in the role. Charli Sullivan would finish as the first runner-up.

Gia Spencer passes along the honor of Little Miss Nokomis to 2023 winner Autumn Kitchens. Aubrey Otto was the first runner-up in the pageant. Members of the Little Miss Court include Riley Beaty, Haylen Durbin, Sadie Goldsmith, Blakely Gross, Scarlett Henry, and Karsyn Sisk.

Finally, Keagan Scoles is the newest Little Mister Nokomis. He takes over after the reign of 2022 winner Leander Jones. On his court were Sawyer Otto and Easton Sisk.

The pageants were directed by Caitlin Spencer. The master of ceremonies was former Miss Montgomery County Madalynn Kraus.

Summary from the Homecoming parade

“Road Trip” was the theme of this year’s Nokomis Homecoming parade that took center stage on Saturday evening, July 8. The parade stepped off at Fred B. Johnson Park through downtown Nokomis and onto Memorial Park with dozens of entries, lots of parade-watchers, and plenty of candy.

Taking home top honors in the Local Adult division were the Disney-themed float of the Nokomis Woman’s Club in first place, followed by “World Traveler” Santa (Donald Baxter) in second place, and the Nokomis Public Library in third place.

In the Local Youth division, the Starr Shooters 4-H Club took home first place, followed by Road Trip to Baseball in second place and St. Louis Catholic School in third place.

Casey’s took home first-place honors in the Local Commercial division, followed by Cake It On in second place and Rose City Farms in third place.

In Out Of Town floats, Grace Fellowship Church won first place, followed by Pana Tri-County Fair Demo in second place and Samaritan’s Purse Christmas float in third place.

Linda Wanger took home first place in the Antique Car division for her 1954 Chevy Bel  Aire. Barb Oltmann’s 1922 Model Ford won second place and Ed Wonderlich’s 1951 MGTD yellow convertible won third place.

In the Antique Tractor division, Paul Sullivan’s John Deere won first place, followed by Daryl Keiser’s Massey Ferguson in second place and John Sullivan’s John Deere in third place.

In the Antique Truck division, Rick Kaiser’s Chevy won first place, followed by Nathan Ruppert’s old truck in second place.

Seeking other results from Homecoming events

We have no available results from the fastpitch softball tournament or from the car show at this time. If those results are available in some fashion, please contact us at [email protected].

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Jake Leonard

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Jake Leonard, a broadcast media and journalism veteran, is the editor-in-chief of Heartland Newsfeed. Leonard is also GM and program director of Heartland Newsfeed Radio Network, wrestling editor and contributing writer for Ambush Sports, a contributing writer for My Sports Vote and Midwest Sports Network, and a former contributor to Bleacher Report and Overtime Heroics. He resides at home in Nokomis, Ill. with his dog Buster.

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