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Student body crowns Mr. and Miss Tennessee Tech

Tennessee Tech’s Centennial Homecoming wrapped up Saturday after Zach Ring and Jennifer Ball were crowned Mr. and Miss Tennessee Tech. Alpha Delta Pi and Sigma Chi were named the overall Homecoming winners.

Organizations competed in a week's worth of events that counted toward the overall score, which determined the winners.

Alpha Delta Pi and Sigma Chi finished in first place. Kappa Delta and Sigma Alpha Epsilon placed second, while Phi Mu and Phi Gamma Delta placed third.

“We knew that we had a chance coming into it, but we didn’t really know what it was going to be like with the changes,” said Connor Pearce, Homecoming chair for Sigma Chi.

Sigma Chi hasn’t won Homecoming in a few years, but this is the fourth year in a row ADPi has won.

“Winning for the fourth year in a row is indescribable,” said Samantha Hovis, Homecoming chair for ADPi “There is really no feeling like it.”

ADPi and Sigma Chi won first place in the banner competition, lip sync and float while receiving full participation points in the canned goods competition.

Zach Ring and Jennifer Ball were crowned Mr. and Miss Tennessee Tech at halftime during the football game. The first runners-up were Molly Campbell and Connor Pearce, and the second runners-up were Tanner Dunn and Chloe Massey.

“Being the first Miss Tennessee Tech is an honor,” said Ball. “Everything I have done has been rewarded, and it’s acknowledged by fellow classmates, the Cookeville community and the faculty and staff of Tech.”

To prepare for the Mr. and Miss Tennessee Tech campaign, Ball went to Tennessee Tech’s printing services for posters and door hangers to hang up around campus.

“I also used Vistaprint, and I had business cards with my Snapchat name and my Instagram name and passed them out to people,” Ball said. “I told them, ‘If you don’t know who to vote for, just know if you voted for me, you’re voting for someone who actually loves this school and has tried to do as much as she could before having to leave.’”

“She literally loves Tech the most out of any of the candidates,” said Sloan Reinard, Ball’s “grandlittle” in Kappa Delta. “Everything about Jennifer oozes Tech. You can’t have a conversation with her without talking about Tech.”

Ball carries her Tech pride off campus to Algood Elementary where she student teaches a third-grade class. On Thursdays, her class participates in “Tennessee Tech Thursday” where she and her students wear purple and gold and do the new soaring eagle hand symbol.

In Ball’s off-campus apartment, she has a downstairs bathroom that she calls her “Tech Pride bathroom.” She plans to add her new Miss Tennessee Tech sash and crown to, along with a mannequin that will model her Tennessee Tech purple and gold dress.

“It’s a tremendous honor and it is something I will always remember,” said Zach Ring, a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon and a tour guide.

Ring had friends who helped create campaign slogans, such as “hotline Ring,” a variation of a Drake song, and “put a Ring on it,” a Beyonce lyric.

“I pride myself on being an outgoing and friendly person,” Ring said. “I really do love this school, and I try to show that by being the best tour guide I can be and give back to the school whenever I can.”