Correction appended.

Last year's queen stretched the suspense, as she held the crown above each princess during halftime at Beaverton High's homecoming. Back and forth she went, to the cheers of the crowd, until she finally rested it on Maddie Lauer's head.

For the first time since the 1960s,

students chose a freshman by popular vote to become homecoming queen. A title usually reserved for seniors, the honor went to Maddie, a 14-year-old diagnosed last fall with thyroid cancer.

It was a big surprise for Maddie, who wore a pretty blue, white and gray dress during Friday's half-time football game against

.

"I thought it was going to be one of the senior girls," said Maddie, a quiet teenager with a love of math.

Last year, on the day before Thanksgiving, Maddie was diagnosed with a rare form of thyroid cancer. As she began receiving chemotherapy treatments, she missed many days of school and needed a tutor to help her study.

Despite the challenges, in April,

fulfilled one of her biggest desires: going to Hawaii. She also hopes one day to become a nurse, inspired by the friendly nurses who comforted her during checkups.

One month after Maddie started her freshman year at Beaverton High School, a group of her close friends began a Twitter and word-of-mouth campaign to elect her as a homecoming princess.

"From there, the word and the news spread like wildfire," said Jason Sarmiento, activities director for Beaverton High.

On the day of voting, Maddie stayed home because she wasn't feeling well, so she missed the final count.

"I didn't even really know about it until (my friends) came to my house at 1 a.m. in the morning and said, 'You're a princess,'" Maddie said.

In the past, out of tradition, students always had selected a senior to be queen.

"The students took this and ran with the idea... It was overwhelming how many votes she got. The support from the best of the students just grew," Sarmiento said.

At homecoming, students lined the stands for the football game. Maddie and the other 11 princesses rode in Corvettes to the track. Dan Lauer and the other fathers held umbrellas to protect their daughters from the rain.

All the princesses were nervous. Maddie's mother, Andrea Lauer, had prepared her for this moment, not to expect too much if she wasn't chosen.

When the crown floated over Maddie's head, the cheering erupted. The crowds chanted her name. Mad-die. Mad-die.

"It was one of the moments where they didn't pick the most polished person," said Laila Umpleby, CEO of Make-A-Wish Oregon, who was there in support. "They picked the bravest person. She's been so brave, so strong."

Maddie didn't know what to say, except thank you. But she didn't have to speak another word, before the other princesses surrounded her with a hug.

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The article reflects a correction published Nov. 20.

In 1964, Beaverton High School's homecoming queen was freshman Barre McFarlane. An article in some Oct. 20 and Nov. 17 editions said the school had never crowned a freshman homecoming queen before this year.