National high school mascot bracket, Round 1: Vote for Wilde Lake Wildecats or Keene Blackbirds

Wilde Lake (Maryland) is a 4 seed and Keene (New Hampshire) is a 13 seed in the first round

The Wilde Lake Wildecats (Maryland) take on the Keene Blackbirds (New Hampshire) 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. 4-seeded Wilde Lake Wildecats (Maryland) or the No. 13-seeded Keene Blackbirds (New Hampshire) to advance to the second round.

The winner will face either the Hill City Ringnecks (Kansas) or Ord Chanticleers (Nebraska).

The Wildecats earned a 4 seed as an at-large bid by finishing fourth in our statewide Maryland contest with 3,596 votes, while the Blackbirds won New Hampshire with six votes to earn a 13 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.

4. Wilde Lake Wildecats (Maryland)

The most clever use of the letter E in high school sports history resulted in Wilde Lake having a deceptively unique mascot. There are 743 U.S. high schools that call themselves the Wildcats, and there's only one Wildecats.

13. Keene Blackbirds (New Hampshire)

If Paul McCartney transferred from Liverpool to a U.S. high school as a teenager, Keene would have been an inspiring destination. The school’s blackbird mascot looks like it could give cartoon magpies Hekyll and Jekyll a run for their money.

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