Maryland
Top 10 high school mascots in Maryland: Vote for the best
A lot of people out West are starting to get excited about the Zags playing Pac-12 basketball, but high school mascot fans back East might prefer some positive Obezags news.
That’s definitely true at Key High School in Maryland, home of the only Obezags in the country.
Over the next couple of months, SBLive/SI will be featuring the best high school mascots in every state, giving readers a chance to vote for No. 1 in all 50.
Vote: Best high school mascot in Louisiana
Vote: Best high school mascot in Maine
The winners and highest vote-getters will make up the field for our NCAA Tournament-style March Mascot Madness bracket in 2025. The Coalinga Horned Toads (California) are the defending national champions.
Here are High School on SI’s top 10 high school mascots in Maryland (vote in the poll below to pick your favorite):
The poll will close at 11:59 p.m. ET Wednesday, Oct. 23.
“Camp Hill,” the site of the present-day Allegany, was a federal army camp during the Civil War, and Allegany High School honors that history by calling themselves the Campers.
Known as “the Seafood Capital of the World,” the city of Crisfield has a giant crab on its welcoming water tower. The Crisfield Crabbers were a minor league baseball team in the 1920s and ’30s, and the high school decided to keep the name alive.
These aren’t just any ducks, they’re Mallards. And they aren’t just any Mallards — they’re Fighting Mallards.
No, Forest Park’s mascot isn’t a Subaru. It’s a bearded burly guy wearing a beanie and swinging a mean ax. Notable past Foresters are Mama Cass Elliot and former Vice President Spiro Agnew.
North Hagerstown went from one interesting mascot to another, switching from Little Heiskell to Hub. The new name stems from the historical and geographical location of Hagerstown at the intersection of waterways, railroads and interstate highways. Little Heiskell, named for German tinsmith Benjamin Heiskell,is an iconic weathervane in Hagerstown.
Michigan has the only Martians in the country among U.S. high schools, and Bryn Mawr has the only Mawrtians. Mascot pride is brimming at the 140-year-old school.
When the property on which the school was built was donated, it was filled with gazebos. The students voted and decided to spell gazebo backwards as their nickname. Not surprisingly, they’re the only Obezags in the country.
This unique school with a unique mascot started in 2015 with 100 ninth-graders, and it’s grown by 100 students each year since. The only requirement to apply to become a Sea Turtle is that English is not your first language.
Not only are these the only Wildebeests among U.S. high schools, they have a fantastic back story. From the school website: “The Wildebeest was a character from an original operetta written by former music teacher Bryan Seith and performed by SSFS students during the school’s early years. At some point after the production, a student thought it would be funny to bring the Wildebeest costume head to an SSFS game to cheer on the team, and eventually SSFS adapted the wildebeest as our School mascot!”
The most clever use of the letter E in high school sports history resulted in Wilde Lake having a deceptively unique mascot. There are 743 U.S. high schools that call themselves the Wildcats, and there’s only one Wildecats.
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Calling all outdoorsmen and women — Maryland’s Lower Shore is home to some of the best hiking, walking and running trails on the East Coast.
Here’s a closer look at four picturesque parks and preserves with nature trails in the Berlin, Salisbury and Ocean City area.
Assateague Island
Assateague Island offers a wide variety of paved and unpaved trails open for hiking and 37 miles of flat beach terrain for wandering and beachcombing. Assateague Island’s Maryland District features a Life of the Dunes trail, Life of the Forest trail, Life of the Marsh trail.
Furnace Town
Furnace Town is nestled between the Pocomoke State Forest and Nature Conservancy’s Nassawango Creek Preserve. The popular historical site offers three Nature Conservancy Trails, three Maryland Forest service Trails, and a 26-acre outdoor museum and recreation area.
Pemberton Historical Park
Pemberton Historical Park, a 262-acre area featuring a trail system, outdoor amphitheater and more, was created in the 1980s. The park offers 4.5 miles of nature trails for walking and hiking only, allowing visitors to explore wetlands, forests and more of the natural world.
Nassawango Creek Preserve
Nassawango Creek Preserve’s primeval forest has an abundance of bald cypress and black gum trees. Visitors are invited to indulge in its four trails, the Nassawango Joe, Prothonotary Warbler, Ron Wilson Memorial Trail and Leifer Trail, as well as self-guided audio tours.
Olivia Minzola covers communities on the Lower Shore. Contact her with tips and story ideas at ominzola@delmarvanow.com.
The 21-year-old second baseman and 11th overall pick in the 2026 MLB Draft has deep ties to the D.C. region.
(Courtesy Washington Nationals)
Courtesy Washington Nationals
(Courtesy Washington Nationals)
Courtesy Washington Nationals
(Courtesy Washington Nationals)
Courtesy Washington Nationals
(Courtesy Washington Nationals)
Courtesy Washington Nationals
(Courtesy Washington Nationals)
Courtesy Washington Nationals
(Courtesy Washington Nationals)
Courtesy Washington Nationals
Washington Nationals’ first-round draft pick Chris Hacopian inked his first professional contract Wednesday, a moment made sweeter by the fact it was just a 30-minute drive from home to get to Nationals Park and put pen to paper.
The 21-year-old second baseman and 11th overall pick in the 2026 MLB Draft has deep ties to the D.C. region. He’s from Potomac, Maryland, and played his high school ball at Winston Churchill, where he was named the 2022 Maryland Gatorade Player of the Year and a 2022 Washington Post All-Met selection.
According to MLB.com, Hacopian grew up a Nationals fan, admiring the likes of Ian Desmond, Danny Espinosa and others. He also played his first two collegiate seasons at the University of Maryland, where his father Derek played before him, before transferring to Texas A&M for his junior season.
With the Aggies, Hacopian hit .319 with 11 home runs and 41 RBI across 42 games en route to being named First-Team All-Southeastern Conference and a Third-Team All-American by Baseball America, the Nationals said in a news release.
After inking his contract Wednesday, Hacopian donned his new jersey and ball cap and stepped onto D.C.’s beloved diamond as a part of the Nationals organization for the first time.
“That was so cool, oh my gosh. I’ve been in the stands like, 100 times, but being on the field is so different,” he said.
Hacopian was ranked 14th among MLB Draft prospects by MLB.com. The 6-foot-1-inch, 210-pound second baseman boasted one of the best bats in college baseball, according to MLB.com, with excellent control over the strike zone and feel for the barrel, along with solid pop.
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The state said the five recently traveled together to “a location in the U.S. experiencing an active measles outbreak.”
Maryland health officials confirmed five more measles cases, all in Carroll County.
“These individuals recently traveled together to a location in the U.S. experiencing an active measles outbreak,” the state Department of Health said in a release.
The agency said others may have been exposed on the afternoon of July 13 in the emergency department waiting room at Carroll Hospital Center in Westminster.
Another measles case recently prompted warnings from health officials in Maryland, Virginia and the District. On June 17, a Maryland resident traveled through Dulles International Airport and visited a D.C. urgent care clinic.
Measles is highly contagious. It can spread through the air through coughs, breathing, and sneezes. Early symptoms can include fevers of over 101 degrees, coughs, runny noses, watery eyes and face or body rashes.
It can take up to 21 days after exposure for the first symptoms to appear, and those who are not fully vaccinated or otherwise immune to measles are especially vulnerable.
The five new measles cases in Maryland bring the state’s year-to-date total to nine. The state health department confirmed three cases in 2025, and one in each of the previous two years.
“All Marylanders should review potential exposure times, watch for symptoms, and confirm they are up to date on their measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccinations,” the health department said.
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© 2026 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.
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