It all started one month ago when, like we do every March, we pitted all 18 Ocean County high school mascots against each other in a quest to find the best one in the county.

There were upsets, blowouts, and razor-thin victories between the beginning of the month and the announcement of this year's finalists one week ago.

It came down to two mascots who vanquished higher seeded competitors for weeks, setting up a battle of one of the best rivalries in Ocean County:

Lacey Lions (8) vs. Central Regional Golden Eagles (5)

There were more votes cast in the week since the poll was posted last Monday than for any previous round.

So, where did those votes go?

Ladies and gentlemen, your 2019 Ocean County Mascot Madness winner is:

Lacey Lions

The Lacey Lions started as the 8th seed when the head-to-head matchups were set, but they sent their opponent to the locker room early in each round, including a semifinal upset over the #1 seeded Donovan Catholic Griffins.

The Lacey Lions also become the first mascot outside of Toms River to win, following in the footsteps of the Toms River East Raiders in 2016, the TR South Indians in 2017, and the TR North Mariners last year.

So, congratulations to the Lacey Lions!

But, we're not done yet.

Our sister station, 94.3 The Point is currently running the Monmouth County version of Mascot Madness, and once a champion is named to the north, we'll pit our winner against theirs in a battle to find the best high school mascot at the whole Jersey Shore!

So, stay tuned and let's keep the love for the Lacey Lions going as we look to keep the All-Shore Mascot Madness title here in Ocean County!