National high school mascot bracket, Round 1: Vote for Mellen Granite Diggers or Nome-Beltz Nanooks

Mellen (Wisconsin) is a 3 seed and Nome-Beltz (Alaska) is a 14 seed in the first round

The Mellen Granite Diggers (Wisconsin) take on the Nome-Beltz Nanooks (Alaska) in Round 1. / Graphic by Jesus Baca

The bracket is set for High School on SI's 2025 NCAA Tournament-style contest to determine the best high school mascot in America, and Round 1 is underway.

Vote below for the No. 3-seeded Mellen Granite Diggers (Wisconsin) or the No. 14-seeded Nome-Beltz Nanooks (Alaska) to advance to the second round.

The winner will face either the Sulphur Golden Tors (Lousiana) or Lejeune Devilpups (North Carolina).

The Granite Diggers earned a 3 seed by winning our statewide Wisconsin contest with 7,798 votes, while the Nanooks won Alaska with four votes to earn a 14 seed.

Follow along: National Mascot Tournament 2025 Bracket

Voting for this matchup will conclude Monday, March 24, at 11:59 p.m. Eastern time.

High School on SI voting polls are intended to be a fun way to create fan engagement and express support for your favorite high school athletes and teams. Unless expressly noted, there are no awards for winning the voting. Our primary focus is to highlight the abilities and accomplishments of all the athletes and teams included in our poll. You are limited to one vote every 6 hours and are encouraged to share our polls with others.

3. Mellen Granite Diggers (Wisconsin)

Mellen has a long history as a mining town, especially for a special type of black granite, and its physical mascot is as colorful as they come. It's a blue chipmunk named Chipper who carries a pick-ax.

14. Nome-Beltz Nanooks (Alaska)

Only one U.S. state has polar bears, but that hasn’t stopped high schools all over the country from choosing Polar Bears as their mascot. But there’s only one “Nanooks,” the Inuit word for “polar bears,” and that school is Nome-Beltz, home to several state championship teams over the past 60 years.

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-- Mike Swanson | swanson@scorebooklive.com | @sblivesports