— Before being crowned Hilldale’s basketball homecoming queen, Madison Kaulay had to help her little cousin overcome stage fright.

Peyton Reynolds, 2, was one of two flower girls at Madison’s coronation Tuesday at Hilldale High School’s Event Center. However, she whimpered and escaped behind the curtains before crossing the stage.

Madison, who was being escorted by Hunter Harrison, encouraged Peyton onto the stage, even holding her little hand while she walked.

Asked who was more nervous at Tuesday’s coronation, Madison said, it was Peyton “for sure.”

“I was nervous, too,” the basketball queen said, adding her biggest concern was “falling on my heels.”

She said it was a challenge to get her broad tulle gown through the curtains as she walked onto the stage.

Madison’s mother, Kelly Kaulay, also had reason to be nervous. As the student council sponsor, she had to coordinate the coronation as well as help her daughter prepare for the event.

“It was a little more stressful because it happened on a Tuesday and not a Friday,” Kaulay said.

Adding to the stressful scheduling, Hunter Harrison signed up that morning to play baseball for Connors State College, Kaulay said.

She said she’s fortunate her daughter is good at multitasking and even helped set things up for the coronation.

Madison said it took about two to two-and-a-half hours to get ready for the coronation. She said she borrowed the coronation gown from a friend.

Madison has attended Hilldale for five years and has played basketball for three years. She is a guard on the team. She also runs track, is on the student council and has been a member of the National Honor Society. She said she hopes to attend Connors then transfer to Haskell Indian Nations University and become a chiropractor.

“I’m proud of the young adult she has turned out to be,” Kelly Kaulay said. “She’s thoughtful, caring. She thinks about others not just about herself.”

Reach Cathy Spaulding at (918) 684-2928 or cspaulding@muskogeephoenix.com.

Hilldale High School basketball homecoming court

QUEEN: Madison Kaulay; ESCORT: Hunter Harrison.

SENIOR ATTENDANT: Jessica VanSchuyver; ESCORT: Dylan Rowan.

JUNIOR ATTENDANT: Nicole Wright; ESCORT: Jordan Proctor.

SOPHOMORE ATTENDANT: Hillary Calvert;

ESCORT: Trent Kirkpatrick.

FRESHMAN ATTENDANT: Katie Kirkhart; ESCORT: Hunter Howe.

FLOWER GIRLS: Peyton Reynolds and Karlie Kirkhart.

Crown Bearer: Brodey Massad.