Coalinga Horned Toads crowned best high school mascot in America

COALINGA, Calif. (KFSN) -- The Coalinga Horned Toads have been crowned as the nation's best high school mascot.

Over the past several weeks, SB Live Sports has been pitting high school mascots against each other in a NCAA Tournament-style contest in order to find the nation's best.

In the final round of voting, Coalinga took home over 860,000 votes, beating the number 10-seeded Miami Wardogs of Oklahoma.

The Horned Toads of Coalinga had earned a number-one seed after winning last year's contest for California's best high school mascot.

The creation of the mascot was inspired by the annual Horned Toad Derby in Coalinga, which began with an impromptu reptile race in 1933.

Five years later, Coalinga High School officially adopted the Horned Toad as its mascot.

The win comes ahead of Coalinga's 87th Annual Horned Toad Derby over Memorial Day Weekend.

The event will be held from May 24th through the 27th, at Olsen Park.