Hayden Shanafelt | Sport Editor
October 4, 2025
Last Friday afternoon, San Clemente High School held their annual Homecoming parade. This Triton tradition entails a parade down the street of Del Mar, where the whole street gets shut down and students get to ride down the street waving out at the crowd. Most cars are categorized by sports; teams will deck out their rides with their teams and ride in the back of truck beds while the convertibles hold the Homecoming royalty.
This is such an important part of our school’s Homecoming every year because it’s not just a way to show off your ride, but to bring a community together and for people to show up and wave at you in the crowd. You look out into the crowd that fills the sidewalks and wave at the crowd that cheers you on. You get to look for friends, family, and even teachers to wave at and greet as you ride down the street. It especially brings together the younger grades, local middle and elementary schools even participating and getting glimpses of what their future could look like at SCHS. The San Clemente community really shows out for this event.
Some of the show-stopping cars that caught our eyes were the convertibles carrying the Homecoming top 5. Senior, Emmi Franklin, described how “riding in the convertible was so much fun and [she] was so excited to participate in the parade.” Being a part of the Homecoming court in her senior season, Emmi was able to reminisce on her years in the parade and appreciate being able to be a part of it one last time. Not only did the Homecoming court show up, but other sports like water polo took a ride on their local fire department’s fire truck leading the way of the parade. Senior and varsity soccer player Elle Schotemeyer got to experience the parade one last time. She mentioned how “grateful [she] is to be able to be involved in such an incredible community that shows up for each other,” and how she is “reminiscing on this being [her] last year in the parade.” Elle, like many other seniors, shared these bittersweet feelings as they realize the next time they see the parade they will be on the sidelines watching. It becomes a reminder to participate to the fullest and to not take for granted our incredible community. The Homecoming parade is one of the many school events that emulates the “One Town, One Team” motto.
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