McNicholas High School celebrated its 73rd Mardi Gras Ball on Sunday, Feb. 16. Each year, members of the sophomore, junior, and senior classes are voted onto either an Honor Guard or the Senior Court where they are recognized for their involvement and devotion to the school and service.
Eight members of the sophomore and junior classes are chosen to be recognized – four men and four women. There are forty seniors recognized with twenty men and twenty women. Each year, one man and one woman from the senior court are recognized as the Captain of the Ball and the Maid of Honor; these two seniors have received the second highest number of votes. This year’s Captain of the Ball was Tyler Munzel and the Maid of Honor was Katie Noble.
The King and Queen are not announced until the night of the pageant. Each member of the court and honor guard is asked to arrive before 5:00 when they are kept in the library and phones are collected. This adds a layer of secrecy to who the King and Queen are and ensures that no one will know until the pageant when they are announced. This year’s King was Ben Jones and the Queen was Julia Cheek.
“It was a really special moment. I was grateful to be surrounded by my friends… I felt very uplifted,” Cheek said.
Both Cheek and Jones were grateful and excited when they heard their names announced. “It was special for me to get king just because I’ve been around the tradition of McNick Mardi Gras for a long time. When I was a lot younger, I got to be a page, and I’ve been to many Mardi Gras pageants with my mom since then, including when I was on sophomore honor guard and when my older sister, Mara, was on court. It was just cool for it all to come full circle and to be a part of such a special tradition that we have here at McNick,” Jones said.
Both Jones and Cheek have been greatly involved in their time throughout McNick. Throughout her four years, Cheek has volunteered for more than 540 hours, been a 4-year cheerleader for both football and basketball seasons, 4-year lacrosse athlete, 1-year fall play participant, Student Body President, Junior Class President, 2 year Class Captain, Ambassador Leadership Board Member, Service Leadership Board Member, Cooking Club President, Magnified Giving Leader, Hope Squad Leadership Team, Head of Homecoming Committee, Eucharistic Minister, Kairos Assistant Rector, and Freshman Day of Renewal Leader, among many other activities.
In his four years, Jones has volunteered for more than 220 hours, been a 4-year soccer athlete, 4-year bowling athlete, and 4-year men’s volleyball athlete, member of the 2024 State Championship Volleyball Team, eucharistic minister, member of Science Honor Society, Math Honor Society, National Honor Society, CREW Leader, and member of Engineering Club, among many other activities.
In the future, Cheek plans to attend The Ohio State University and major in industrial engineering.
Jones plans to attend the University of Dayton and major in either Mechanical or Environmental Engineering.
Per tradition, the king and queen are kept secret and not announced until the night of the Mardi Gras Ball. Members of the senior court gather to await the announcement and celebrate with announced members of the court.
The McNicholas Milestone 