Top 10 high school mascots in Virginia: Vote for the best

From Atoms to Gobblers to Mighty Bookers, meet the best high school mascots in Virginia

Strut is the Broadway Gobblers' mascot in Virginia high school sports. / SBLive archives

When Mighty Bookers and Mighty Oaks collide, high school mascot fans in Virginia might tell you it's time to bring in the Drifters as mediators.

Over the past few months, SBLive/High School on SI has been 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 10 high school mascots in Virginia (vote in the poll below to pick your favorite):

The poll will close at 11:59 p.m. ET Friday, Feb. 21.

1. Atoms (Annandale HS)

When Annandale opened in 1954 during the Cold War, students were inspired by President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s “Atoms for Peace” speech when they adopted the Atoms mascot, according to WUSA 9. The opening came nine years after the U.S. dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan.

2. Caissons (Fishburne Military)

The Caissons are named for the “usually 2-wheeled vehicle for artillery ammunition attachable to a horse-drawn limber,” according to Merriam-Webster. Fishburne Military can probably rest easy that the nickname is all theirs at this point.

3. Drifters (Colonial Beach HS)

Unlike some drifters, who continually move from place to place without any fixed home or job, these Drifters have been firmly rooted to the small town of Colonial Beach on the Potomac since the 1980s. The school's logo is a clipper ship, and its physical mascot is Pete the Pirate.

4. Fighting Seahorses (Christchurch)

Christchurch was built in a remote, waterfront location in 1921, so it’s the perfect spot for Seahorses. Students in 1938 chose the name Seahorses, and it eventually evolved into the Fighting Seahorses.

5. Flying Flucos (Fluvanna County HS)

The Flying Flucos' nickname originated in the 1940s, when a newspaper article referred to the football team as "The Flying Men of Flu.Co." (an attempt to abbreviate Fluvanna County). The students liked it, and it stuck. The school's physical mascot has varied over the years, with a caped "Flucoman" being one recent incarnation.

6. Gobblers (Broadway HS)

Broadway’s mascot isn’t just any Gobbler, it’s Strut the Fighting Gobbler, who's a turkey not to be trifled with.

7. Mighty Bookers (Washington HS)

Washington High School in Norfolk was named in honor of Booker T. Washington, an African-American educator, author, orator and adviser to presidents of the United States. These Mighty Bookers often refer to themselves simply as “the Bookers,” perhaps because “Mighty” is implied when we’re talking about Booker T. Washington.

8. Mighty Oaks (Norfolk Collegiate)

Norfolk Collegiate's mascot began as a donkey when the school was founded in 1948 as Carolton Oaks, but they've been the Mighty Oaks for years now. According to 13newsnow.com: "The oak tree was chosen to represent Carolton Oaks not only because of their physical presence around the residence that was first used as Carolton Oaks, but also for the representation of knowledge as a tree."

9. Revelators (Tabernacle of Prayer Christian)

A revelator is one who reveals the will of God, and faith-based Tabernacle of Prayer Christian is the one school in the country that goes by the Revelators.

10. Truckers (Churchland HS)

According to the 2020 census, the U.S. employed 3.36 million truck drivers. That’s a pretty solid-sized fan base for a high school team. According to a past student handbook, the name Truckers originated "from the large, wealthy truck farms that surrounded the village in the 1920s and 1930s."

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