The stadium lights beam down onto the football field, illuminating the players clad in green jerseys and shoulder pads as they make another play. From the sidelines, the crowd roars and senior Grant Wernicke, Jr. makes the split-second decision, based on the crowd’s energy, to do a series of push ups along the edge of the track before jumping back up to his feet and running over to a group of children that stands clustered in front of the bleachers to give them high-fives.

“[Being the mascot is] a cool feeling,” Wernicke said. “When you get people going, you feel like you’re doing something good for the team and that you’re actually helping.”

All throughout his high school career, Wernicke has been a fan of the school — he went all out during spirit days and cheered on his peers at every game he could attend. When Wernicke was a sophomore, a fellow student told him that his dedication would make him a memorable mascot, so he took his friend’s advice and went to consult the cheer coach about the position.

Flash forward to 2014, and Wernicke takes pride in his occupation. From the sidelines he energizes the crowds at varsity football and basketball games. He also attends other school and community functions, such as spirit assemblies and the Stilwell parade, held every year during the Fourth of July.

“I think that students with that level of spirit are the foundation of the school and of the Southwest culture,” Student Council sponsor  Lynda LaPlant said. “We’re still young enough that we’re still making our traditions and culture, and Grant has been a big part of that. It’s just so exciting to see kids really grab on and try to make the school a better, tighter-knit community.”

From his first experience as the mascot, Wernicke knew that it was something that he wanted to pursue. By the time he reached junior year, he decided that he wanted to take the initiative to turn it into its own position, either within the cheer team or on StuCo.

“When I started, it was really just a volunteer position,” Wernicke said. “Somebody went and got the costume for me every game, but after a few games I took it upon myself.  I got some shirts for it, some clothes for it, and I was spending my own money out of my own pocket. But then, at the beginning of junior year, I wanted the mascot to become its own official position.”

With the assistance of LaPlant, Wernicke was eventually able to have the position of mascot added to the cheer team; however, he has a dual membership on StuCo because of the extensive number of events he must attend with that organization. He is now able to work with a budget of $200 a year to cover expenses for cleaning and repairing the suit, and he can receive a varsity letter in the activity.

“He goes, just like the cheerleaders and the players, to all of the events, and in my opinion for what he does, he deserves a letter and to be recognized for the things that he’s doing,” Athletic Director Gary Howard said. “He brought that subject up, we talked about it, and I decided that he’s well deserving of it — just the same as a manager, cheerleader or anyone else.”

Throughout his three years as the mascot, Wernicke has had the chance to experience a number of unique opportunities, including meeting professional mascots from the Kansas City area. Despite this, he claims some of the most enjoyable aspects of being the mascot are the connections he makes with Southwest fans.

“[The best part of being the mascot] is probably getting the notes from all the little kids saying, ‘I love you’ or, ‘You’re my best friend,’” Wernicke said. “Back in sophomore year, at the first game I got a note from this little girl that said, ‘I love you’ with a drawing of her and I holding hands, and I hung it up on my bulletin board — I still have it there — and thought, ‘This is what I want to do.’ That little girl brought me candy bars that whole game and tried to bring me food. I’m pretty sure this little girl visits me at least four times a quarter at the games and gives me high-fives screaming ‘Timmy, Timmy come over here!’ And every time, I run over to her and give her high-fives and send her off, but she comes back five minutes later to do the same thing.”

At games, Wernicke’s positive interactions with fans have not gone unnoticed. Howard says that Wernicke’s energy and personality make people “drawn to him,” while simultaneously “[projecting] a positive image of the school,” indicating his standout qualities as the mascot. However, for Wernicke, one of the standout qualities that goes along with being the mascot is that he can have exclusive pride in what he does.

“I love the fact that I can be in the position that I’m in as the mascot — I’m the only one,” Wernicke said. “I feel like I have my own thing here. I’m not a football player, I’m not a baseball player, but I’m the mascot.”

By being the first person to step into this role, Wernicke has contributed to the tradition of school pride and spirit, providing an example for those who may follow in his footsteps after he graduates.

“I think that by establishing the mascot as a part of the Southwest tradition, he’s set a precedent that it’s important, and that it’s something that someone has to take care of,” LaPlant said. “So I think he’s set the expectation that being the mascot is a commitment, not just something that someone fills in when we need it.”

As for Wernicke’s thoughts on the importance of being the mascot, he says that it “isn’t just some guy putting on the costume on Friday nights.” Because of his role, he had to attend events that he didn’t necessarily want to go to, suffer minor injuries due to angry fans of opposing teams and deal with the bulky suit on a weekly basis. Despite this, he continued to strive to improve his craft by consulting online sources and professionals all because of his love for the activity.

“When I leave the school, I don’t want people to think I was just a guy who put on a costume,” Wernicke said. “I was the guy who made the mascot an official position, and I was the school’s first actual mascot. To me, it’s more than a suit.”