Benson was the Nebraska winner with 10,381 votes, No. 7 nationally. 

In NCAA Tournament fashion, the March Mascot Madness first round will start with 32 head-to-head matchups with the winners determined by fan votes. Each matchup will give fans a week to vote, and the winner moves on to the next round.

Benson’s first-round opponent is the Alamosa (Colorado) Mean Moose. Voting begins Wednesday.

The schools and mascots that finished ahead of Benson were leading vote-getter Oakville (Washington) Acorns, Charles Wright (Washington) Tarriers, Coalinga (California) Horned Toads, Hollister (California) Haybalers, Tarpon Springs (Florida) Sponges and Key West (Florida) Conchs).

​Benson’s nickname dates to 1926. Rabbits on the athletic field or short players on the basketball team are said to be the inspiration for the nickname, which first appeared in the Omaha Daily News.

The only other high school using Bunnies is Fisher (Illinois), near Champaign-Urbana.

SBLive Sports said last year’s champion, the Cary (North Carolina) Imps, didn’t make it out of the statewide round.