Vote now for best high school mascot in America, Sweet 16: Bend Lava Bears vs. Page Sandites
We're on to the Sweet 16 in SBLive Sports' NCAA Tournament-style contest to determine the best high school mascot in America.
Vote below for the No. 9-seeded Bend Lava Bears (Oregon) or the No. 12-seeded Page Sandites (Oklahoma) to advance to the Elite Eight. The Lava Bears beat the Center Point-Urbana Stormin' Pointers (Iowa) and the Sandites topped the Clay-Battelle Cee-Bees (West Virginia) in Round 2.
The Lava Bears earned a 9 seed with 75 votes in our fall contests, while the Sandites earned a 12 seed with 33 votes.
Follow along: National Mascot Tournament 2023 Bracket
Voting for this matchup will conclude Tuesday, May 23, at 11:59 p.m. Eastern time.
Editor's note: In the event of a tie, the team with the better seed will prevail based on the results of our fall mascot contest.
9. Bend Lava Bears (Oregon)
A bear dripping with lava? Not quite. The lava bear is a legendary variety of black bear found in the lava beds of south central Oregon. The few “lava bears” that were killed or captured were a little larger than a badger. Today, it is acknowledged that lava bears never existed as a unique species. So although Small Bears would be more accurate, Lava Bears sounds way cooler.
12. Page Sandites (Oklahoma)
Sandite is a a mixture of sand, antifreeze and steel shot used on railways to combat leaves on the lines. But that’s not what anyone from Sand Springs is referring to when using the word Sandite. It just means “a person from Sand Springs.” And the Sand Springs Page Sandites’ mascot is a minuteman, which has nothing to do with Sandites.
