Best high school mascot in Kansas: Top 5 candidates

From Swathers to Ringnecks, meet the best high school mascots in Kansas

If you take a swather out into the field hunting for ringnecks, watch out for greenbacks, and make sure no Teutons are on your tail.

That's our high school mascot-themed advice in Kansas.

SBLive Sports' love for unique mascots with interesting back stories has been well documented.

We've crowned Hodags and Imps the past couple of years in national high school mascot contests, and now we're taking a spin through every state.

Over the next couple of months we'll go from Alabama through Wyoming featuring each state's best high school mascots, and then give readers a chance to vote for their favorite. Our Kansas poll will post Oct. 19 on highschool.si.com and stay open through Oct. 26.

Here are the top 5 high school mascots in Kansas:

Hesston Swathers

A swather is a piece of farming equipment that's crucial to the town of Hesston. From an article on farmlife.com: "The swather mascot first came into play in 1970, says Clint Stoppel, athletic director at the Kansas school. School officials wanted to pay tribute to the AGCO Corporation plant (previously known as Hesston Manufacturing) and the crucial role the manufacturer played then and now in the town’s economy."

Hill City Ringnecks

Hill City, aka Ringneck Country, is an area known for its pheasant hunting — specifically the ringneck pheasant. The Hill City Ringnecks, meanwhile, annually hunt for state championships.

Inman Teutons

Inman is rife with German heritage, and a Teuton is a Germanic fighting warrior from around the second century BC. Inman has the only Teutons in U.S. high school sports.

Pratt Greenbacks

Pratt's "Fighting Frog" mascot is among the snazziest in the nation, sporting a monogrammed "P" sweater and stylish cap. The football field at Pratt used to flood and turn it into a swamp of sorts, and since frogs live in swamps, they chose a frog as its mascot and the name Greenbacks since it's more interesting than Frogs.

Perry-Lecompton Kaws

Perry-Lecompton's Kaw mascot looks a lot like an all-blue version of the Kansas Jayhawk, and the high school is just 15 minutes away from Allen Fieldhouse. Perry and Lecompton consolidated in 1970, and Perry's mascot, the Kaws, was so good that it stuck through unification.

(Swathers photo by Sandra J. Milburn/The Hutchinson News / USA Today Network)

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-- Mike Swanson | swanson@scorebooklive.com | @sblivesports