Ninja pandas, fire ants and pretzels were among some of the more unusual suggestions that students at Grayslake North High School came up with when asked to recommend a mascot for the new school.
Grizzly bears, bison, pirates, panthers, longhorns and stallions also made the short list of nominations.
In the end, the students chose to be represented by a medieval figure, a swashbuckling knight, rather than a sled dog like a husky or a coyote like the kind seen roaming the north suburbs in recent months.
“The knight really was a clear choice of the students,” said Cyndy Rogers, an assistant to school Principal Kari King.
The school’s approximately 730 students overwhelmingly chose black and gold for their sports teams over combinations such as red, black and silver or blue, black and silver.
Now, students must decide exactly how they want the knight to look and how the color scheme should be used on uniforms.
At least there’s not a big rush.
Even though it has its mascot and colors, the year-old school doesn’t have a varsity team to face off against the Rams at nearby Grayslake Central High School, because Grayslake North students are only freshmen and sophomores.