Rhinelander Hodags vs. Cary Imps: Vote now for best high school mascot in America, National Championship Game
We've reached the final phase of SBLive Sports' NCAA Tournament-style contest to determine the best high school mascot in America.
Vote below for the No. 1-seeded Rhinelander Hodags (Wisconsin) or the No. 11-seeded Cary Imps (North Carolina) to claim the national title. The Hodags beat the Tillamook Cheesemakers (Oregon) and the Imps topped the Camas County Mushers (Idaho) in the Final Four.
The Hodags earned a 1 seed by piling up 211,761 votes in our fall contests (including the championship round), while the Imps earned an 11 seed with 42 votes.
Follow along: National Mascot Tournament 2023 Bracket
Voting for the National Championship Game will conclude Monday, June 19, at 11:59 p.m. Eastern time.
Editor's note: Our features and corresponding poll is intended to be fun, and we do not set limits on how many times a fan can vote during the competition. However, we do not allow votes that are generated by script, macro or other automated means. Automated votes will be removed from the poll.
1. Rhinelander Hodags (Wisconsin)
The history of the hodag is strongly tied to the city of Rhinelander, where it was claimed to have been discovered. The hodag — a fearsome creature resembling a large bull-horned carnivore with a row of thick curved spines down its back — has figured prominently in early Paul Bunyan stories.
11. Cary Imps (North Carolina)
These Imps have an interesting back story. Albert H. Werner, a football and baseball coach at the school in the 1930s, came up with the name as a nod to his alma mater, Duke. The JV teams at the time were called the Blue Imps rather than the Blue Devils, and a less colorful version has stuck at Cary.
