Best high school mascot in Louisiana: Top 10 candidates

Mascot suggestions in a 1964 contest included Raiderettes, Fleur de lis, Shamrocks and Chapelle's Belles, but Chipmunks was the easy winner thanks to their "alert, inquisitive, sociable and communicative" nature.

More than 100 high schools in the U.S. go by the Gators, but there’s only one Blue Gators, and they’re in Lafayette, Louisiana, at Ascension Episcopal.

Ladies and gentlemen, let us introduce you to Crowley High School, home of the Ladies and Gents. It’s pretty simple: The boys sports teams are called the Gents and the girls teams are called the Ladies.

A greenie, according to Merriam-Webster, is a supporter of environmentalism, but Isidore Newman's mascot is Greenie Gator. If the school ever considered a mascot change, the Mannings might be an option — Isidore Newman is the alma mater of Peyton, Cooper, Eli and most recently Arch.

Visitors to Kenner Discovery Health Sciences Academy are greeted by a 15-foot sculpture of a Swamp Owl, also known as a Barred Owl. There are no Barred Owls in high school sports, and Kenner Discovery has the only Swamp Owls.

A Roneagle is a mythical bird fashioned after the American bald eagle. But McDonogh’s Roneagle has a solid iron constitution, making it stronger, swifter, larger and more resourceful than all other real-life birds.

The University of Louisiana at Lafayette has the Ragin' Cajuns, and Metairie Park Country Day — located between the Mississippi River and Lake Pontchartrain — has the less angry Cajuns. It seems like more than one Louisiana high school would be called the Cajuns, but nope, this school has the nickname all to itself in all of U.S. preps.

From the “Our Mascot” section of the New Orleans school’s website: “The Chambered Nautilus is an ocean-dwelling mollusk. As a nautilus age, it creates new chambers for its shell, which it then grows into. The nautilus moves through the water with jet propulsion, using the chambers it grew out of to regulate its buoyancy. The shell’s spiral is an approximation of the Golden Ratio, a mathematical relationship found throughout nature, art, and architecture. Sharing the story of this curious creature is a Sci High tradition that inspires students to propel themselves forward and keep growing.”

St. Joseph’s Academy loves mascots so much that it has five of them. Here’s how it works: Every student is a Redsticker, but one is also either a Dolphin, Turtle, Bee or Flamingo depending on the year you graduate. The school’s seniors in 2023-24 are Redsticker Flamingos.

Sure, Tors is just short for Tornadoes, but you’ve got to love the creativity (and brevity). There are several Golden Tornadoes in the high school ranks across the U.S., plus a few singular Golden Tornado, but there’s only one Golden Tors.