— FORT GIBSON — Taylor Sparks admitted to feeling trepidation Friday before her full name was called as Fort Gibson’s 2012 homecoming queen.

Not only was the Fort Gibson High School senior up against 24 other queen candidates — each representing a club or team — four of them had the first name  Taylor and one had the last name Taylor. The queen is chosen by the FGHS student body.

“I was shaking when the announcer said, ‘Taylor,’ and then said my last name,” said Taylor Sparks, who represented FFA. Referring to her fellow candidates, she added, “We were all just kind of waiting.”

The other Taylors were Taylor London, representing basketball; Taylor Gandara, representing cheerleading; Erin Taylor, representing National Art Honor Society; Taylor Cosby, representing slowpitch softball and Taylor O’Laughlin, representing drama.

Taylor Sparks’ father, Troy Simmons, also admitted to being nervous as he escorted her across the football stadium.

“I was nervous. She was nervous. Both of us were shaking when they called her name,” he said. “We didn’t think an FFA candidate would get it two years in a row.”

The 2011 homecoming queen, Hunter Jaynes, also represented FFA.

Taylor Sparks said being crowned the homecoming queen was the first of several honors she hopes to receive this year. As a freshman, she showed a reserve grand champion pig at a regional livestock show.

She hopes to show the grand champion pig this school year, she said.

She is also active in soccer. Teresa Gandara, the mother of one of Taylor’s friends, called her “Sparky.”

“She’s like a spark plug, and she’s just awesome,” Gandara said. “Defensively, she is extremely competitive and wants to win every time.”

After high school, Taylor Sparks plans to attend Oklahoma State University and major in math or agricultural education.

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

The 2012 Fort Gibson queens and escorts

The 2012 Fort Gibson Homecoming queen was crowned Friday. Here are the queens of each club and activity and their escorts.



HOMECOMING QUEEN: Taylor Sparks, representing FFA. Escort: Tyler Branscum.

BAND: Hannah Johnson; Escort, Derek Cookson.

BASEBALL: Sarah Perryman; Escort, Tyler Stach.

BASKETBALL: Taylor London; Escort, Jordan Hill,

CHEERLEADING: Taylor London; Escort, Nick Bailey.

CROSS-COUNTRY: Aspen Burroughs; Escort, Nick Nunez.

DRAMA: Taylor O’Laughlin; Escort, Josh Daniel.

FCCLA: Amy Cook; Escort, Jake Payne.

FOOTBALL: Jordan Yates; Escort, Jake Gandara.

GOLF: Alicia O’Connor; Escort, Collin Abdallah.

HISTORY CLUB: Hunter Waltz; Escort, Hunter Waltz.

MATH AND SCIENCE CLUB: Carla Horton; Escort, Derric Tuck.

NATIONAL ART HONOR SOCIETY: Erin Taylor; Escort, Taylor Pearce.

NATIVE AMERICAN STUDENT ASSOCIATION: Sky Wildcat; Escort, Victor Olvera.

NATIONAL HONOR SOCIETY: Sylvia Macareno; Escort, Bryar Bush.

ROBOTICS: Meri Dallas; Escort, Ben Wallace.

SELECT CHOIR: Sarah Garrett; Escort, Evan Martin.

SLOWPITCH SOFTBALL: Taylor Cosby; Escort, Colton Petty.

SOCCER: Kyndra Johnson; Escort, Cole Landers.

SPANISH CLUB: Shelby Palmer; Escort, Joshua Pollard.

SWIMMING: Hannah Cantrell; Escort, Chris Huggins.

TRACK: Lillian Bear; Escort, Camron Thomas.

WINTERGUARD: Brittany Baker; Escort, Matthew Springfield.

WRESTLING: Sarah Salters, Escort, Tanner Enger.

YEARBOOK: Caitlin Ferguson; Escort, Trent Brown.

FLOWER GIRL: Bristol Rogers.

CROWN BEARER: Gideon Wood.