After five exciting weeks of intense competition, we have a winner! Congratulations to the Freedom Irish, who have claimed victory in the first-ever High School Mascot Bracket Challenge. Along with bragging rights, the Irish will take home a $10,000 Arctic Cold Plunge for their school’s athletic department.
In the Championship Round, the Freedom Irish faced off against the Appleton North Lightning in a nail-biting matchup that went down to the wire. With 80,475 total votes in the final round, Freedom pulled ahead by just 5,199 votes, making for an incredibly close finish.
The entire competition was a celebration of school spirit across Northeast Wisconsin, and it showed. We started with 32 high schools and ended with a total of 468,937 votes cast!
Fans, community members and students voted vigorously to advance their school to the next round in this bracket-style tournament. The competition was executed across six Woodward Community Media websites including 105.7 WAPL, 95.9 KISS FM, 104.3 The Fuse, Razor 94.7 | 104.7, WHBY, and The Score., 105.7 WAPL, 95.9 KISS FM, 104.3 The Fuse, Razor 94.7 | 104.7, WHBY, and WSCO.
The first round saw nearly 100,000 votes cast among the 32 schools. Here was the full list:
Appleton East Patriots, Appleton North Lightning, Appleton West Terrors, Ashwaubenon Jaguars, Bay Port Pirates, Brillion Lions, De Pere Redbirds, Denmark Vikings, Fox Valley Lutheran Foxes, Freedom Irish, Green Bay East Red Devils, Green Bay Preble Hornets, Green Bay Southwest Trojans, Green Bay West Wildcats, Hortonville Polar Bears, Kaukauna Galloping Ghosts, Kimberly Papermakers, Little Chute Mustangs, Lourdes Academy Knights, Menasha Blue Jays, Neenah Rockets, Notre Dame Tritons, Omro Foxes, Oshkosh North Spartans, Oshkosh West Wildcats, Pulaski Red Raiders, Seymour Thunder, St. Mary Catholic Zephyrs, West De Pere Phantoms, Winneconne Wolves, Wrightstown Tigers, and Xavier Hawks
As the weeks progressed, the matchups became even more intense. Round 2 brought in 128,632 votes across 8 matchups, while Round 3 saw the final eight schools go head-to-head, drawing in 101,751 votes.
By Round 4, it was down to Freedom Irish vs. Little Chute Mustangs and Appleton North vs. Brillion Lions. Freedom and Appleton North came out on top, moving on to the Championship Round.
Watching communities rally behind their schools throughout this bracket challenge has been incredible, and we’re excited to award the Freedom Irish their brand-new Arctic Plunge Cold Tub. Thank you to everyone who participated, voted, and made this competition so memorable!
