Dalton Sewell spent his entire high school career anonymously playing the role of mascot Wolfie at Buford High School. Now he’s weeks from graduating and his secret is finally out.
“I never went to a football game or cared about sports much,” said Sewell, 17, of Buford. “I was definitely not passionate about cheerleading and the idea of being a mascot never crossed my mind until one random afternoon.”
Credit: Courtesy of Dalton Sewell
Credit: Courtesy of Dalton Sewell
At the beginning of his freshman year in 2019, Sewell was walking down an empty hallway when he ran into Lisa Cole, the director of cheerleading.
“She looked at me a couple seconds, then asked if I’d want to be the mascot,” said Sewell with a laugh. “I’d never met her before. I was so confused by the unexpected question, so I said no.”
Later that evening, Sewell learned through his grandmother, a teacher at Buford, that Cole was stressed because no one had signed up to be Wolfie and football season was about to start. Sewell slept on the notion for a night or two, then went to Cole’s classroom and said I’m in.
Sewell learned that it’s traditional for mascots to be anonymous, so he didn’t tell anyone about his new gig.
“My close friends are like me, they’re nerds,” quipped Sewell. “They don’t go to games, so no questions were asked.”
Cole and Sewell’s mom, Ashley Spence, worked together to keep his identity a secret. He’d sneak out of games early and meet his mom, often disguised in a hat and glasses, at a discreet pick-up spot.
Credit: Courtesy of Dalton Sewell
Credit: Courtesy of Dalton Sewell
“We’d drive down the road with the air conditioning on full blast so he wouldn’t burn up in the suit,” said Spence. “Away games were the hardest because we weren’t familiar with the fields. We’d Google to look at satellite images and decide on meeting places. We took it seriously and it was so much fun. We had so much one on one time and it meant everything to me.”
The first time Sewell put on the Wolfie costume it didn’t fit. He was tall enough, but very skinny. The fur would blow in the wind and the head was heavy. As he grew over the years, he filled out the suit more and his personality as Wolfie evolved.
“Freshman year I was the funny oddball mascot,” said Sewell. “I went the silly route. I played Rock, Paper, Scissors with kids, and I’d do the floss, that dance that was so popular. That got a lot of laughs, but I felt like I was just trying to figure it all out, trying to fine tune my craft, I guess.”
COVID-19 greatly affected Sewell’s sophomore year as Wolfie.
“I wasn’t allowed to touch anyone,” said Sewell. “When you take the mascot away from the fans and have this six-foot distance requirement, it’s a challenge. I had to think of new ways to connect to the audience. I had to learn the cheerleader’s dances because I couldn’t do anything else. I felt awkward, but it helped that no one knew it was me.”
Sewell reemerged in the crowd during his junior and senior years. By this point, he’d grown confident and comfortable in his role.
“I got to the point where I didn’t care if I messed up a dance or if an attempt to be silly flopped,” said Sewell. “I realized the crowd didn’t care about mistakes, they loved me, and that made the experience pure fun.”
Cole said keeping Sewell’s identity a secret for four years was a challenge that required commitment on his part and he also chose to forgo any kind of personal recognition.
“This speaks volumes about his character and devotion to our school,” said Cole.
Sewell was Wolfie at football games, basketball games, homecoming parades, and visited the younger Buford schools for special events.
“I knew I’d have an audience, but nothing could have prepared me for the amount of attention I received,” said Sewell. “I was that guy. The second I walked out as Wolfie, I was covered with 50 third graders calling my name. It was amazing.”
Sewell also played Wolfie in all the pep rallies, except for one. During his senior year, he asked if he could skip the costume and attend as a regular student, just so he could have that experience with his classmates.
Sewell decided to reveal his identity in February at senior night for the basketball team.
“It was the only game my friends ever attended, because I told them to show up,” said Sewell. “I walked onto the court, just as myself, no costume, with mom by my side. They said my name and a picture of me as Wolfie went up on the big screen. The crowd erupted in an uproar. It’s one thing to be loved as the mascot, and another to walk out as yourself and get that applause.”
Now when he walks down the hallways at school, classmates often call him Wolfie.
“I’ll miss it,” he said.
Sewell will attend Georgia Gwinnett College in the Fall. He hasn’t looked into anything yet, but he said he’s interested in being the GGC mascot.
“From a wolf to a bear.”
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