Top 5 high school mascots in North Dakota: Vote for the best

From Holsteins to Woodchucks, meet the best high school mascots in North Dakota
2-year-old Pedro Calvario is not the official mascot of the New Salem Holsteins, but he looks ready for the part.
2-year-old Pedro Calvario is not the official mascot of the New Salem Holsteins, but he looks ready for the part. / CLIFFORD OTO/THE STOCKTON RECORD / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

North Dakota has just 175 high schools in the entire state, and five stand out among the masses in a mascot sense.

Spoiler alert: High school mascot fans looking to see Holsteins take on Honkers need look no further than North Dakota.

Over the next couple of months, SBLive/SI will be featuring the best high school mascots in every state, giving readers a chance to vote for No. 1 in all 50.

The winners and highest vote-getters will make up the field for our NCAA Tournament-style March Mascot Madness bracket in 2025. The Coalinga Horned Toads (California) are the defending national champions.

Here are High School on SI's top 5 high school mascots in North Dakota (vote in the poll below to pick your favorite):

The poll will close at 11:59 p.m. ET Tuesday, Jan. 21.

1. Hi-Liners (Valley City HS)

Valley City High School has been the Hi-Liners since 1926, in honor of the Hi-Line Bridge built in 1908. The bridge is 3,096 feet long and rises 160 feet above the Sheyenne River.

2. Holsteins (New Salem HS)

Dairy farming is big in New Salem, and in 1974 the city celebrated its dairy farmers by erecting a 38-foot-high fiberglass Holstein cow named Salem Sue. New Salem has the only Holsteins in the country among U.S. high schools, and its logo of a cartoony cow is one of the best in the country.

3. Honkers (Kenmare HS)

Canada geese are commonly referred to as "honkers" for the loud sound they make, and there are large populations of the birds in Kenmare. Instead of trying to drive the birds away, the city immortalized them with the highest honor: representing the town as the high school's mascot.

4. Spoilers (Grafton HS)

Unlike the Dark Horses of North Carolina who’ve been anything but dark horses in sports, Grafton’s teams are said to have become the Spoilers by being spoilers. The small school developed such a reputation for winning as the underdog that Spoilers stuck.

5. Woodchucks (St. John HS)

How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood? Woodchucks don’t actually chuck wood, but they can chuck about 700 pounds of dirt in a day. That kind of chucking prowess (regardless of the substance being chucked) definitely makes the Woodchucks a well-qualified mascot, but St. John has them all to itself.

Download the SBLive App

To get live updates on your phone — as well as follow your favorite teams and top games — you can download the SBLive Sports app: Download iPhone App | Download Android App

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


Published
Mike Swanson, SBLive Sports
MIKE SWANSON

Mike Swanson is the VP of Content for High School On SI. He's been in journalism since 2003, having worked as a reporter, city editor, copy editor and high school sports editor in California, Connecticut and Oregon.