'Today Show' Appearance Results in Prom Date for Avon Resident

Kingswood Oxford's Wyvern got some "rope time" in Rockefeller Center at NBC's "Today Show" Monday morning, in an attempt to turn that 15 minutes of fame (or really 28 seconds on air) into votes for the West Hartford mascot in USA Today's "Most Unique High School Mascot" contest.

A Kingswood student from Avon had some additional plans for his air time.

Athletic Director Sue Cabot, Director of Communications and Marketing Michelle Murphy, Director of Alumni and Constituent Relations Nicole Kimball, Advancement Associate Meghan Kurtich, parent Ann Coolidge Randall ('73), students Blake Randall ('13) and Hunter Sanders ('13), and Monica Bisgaard (wife of Head of School Dennis Bisgaard and a current parent) headed from West Hartford to New York City early Monday morning, hoping to catch the attention of Today Show personality Al Roker.

Kingswood alumna Erica Grody Levens '78, who works at the Today Show, gave the group some guidance about timing and positioning themselves to get on camera, Murphy said. Levens also alerted a cameraman about the Wyvern's presence in the audience.

'We got to the sidewalk outside the studio at around 5:15-5:20. We had the Wyvern costume with us in its carrying case. Blake – who has 'been' the Wyvern many, many times during high school – was going to wear the costume and figured it would be better to put it on once he got there vs. walking the streets of the city dressed as a red mythical creature," said Murphy.

"We had many signs. We had Wyvern t-shirts. We had a Wyvern tie! We huddled together there on the sidewalk, distributed fliers to the other people on line and asked them to vote for KO KO, and then just ... waited. It was cold!" she said.

Murphy said the group eventually worked its way into a prime location, where they could see into the studio. Roker, as well as Savannah Guthrie and Matt Lauer, all waved to KO KO, said Murphy.

"Finally, the three of them came out to do some segments outside, and that's when Al came over to our group, interviewed Sue Cabot, laughed about the Wyvern. We screamed, cheered, waved our signs," Murphy said.

With a big grin on his face Sanders, a KO senior from Avon, used that moment to hold up another sign that read: "Olivia Whirty Prom?" Whirty, a Kingswood student who is also from Avon, said "Yes!" as soon as she found out about it, Murphy said.

The Wyvern is one of six regional winners competing for the national honor of "Most Unique High School Mascot" in the USA Today contest.

After winning the Connecticut competition and then the regional competition, Kingswood supporters knew they would face tough competition in the form of the Centralia (Illinois) Orphans. The Orphans received more than 5 million votes in the regional competition, compared to the Wyvern which won with just over 1.5 million votes.

Murphy said she learned that one of the Today Show crew members was a Centralia graduate, and he came out to tell the KO supporters that there would be no hard feelings "regardless of who wins."

As of midnight Tuesday, the Wyvern had close to 950,000 votes, but the orphans had a staggering 25-plus million votes.

Voting ends Wednesday, March 27, at 3 p.m., and there is no limit on the number of times anyone can vote. To vote for the Wyvern, click here. Kingswood also has a recommended browser which can be installed to assist with rapid voting, and details can be found on the KO Wyvern Best Mascot Contest Facebook page.