Pep Fest ignites the Spartan spirit
Each year, SAC asks a poll of students from each grade to participate as part of the relay race.
From bag-sack racing, to ping pong on a spoon, to wheelbarrow, each event was greeted by applause from the audience. Starting off with bag-sack racing, each grade was quick and were following one right after another. During chicken and pool noodle racing, junior Adam Ebert was leading, with sophomore Lucia Gonzalez zooming through obstacles following closely behind.
“We feel pretty good until maybe the wheelbarrow part,” freshman Nabeeha Quadri said. The winners of the relay race were the juniors, followed by sophomores, freshmen, and the senior class.
At the second event of the Pep Fest rally, one captain from each fall sport was elected to participate in a race. SAC would quietly announce the items to the captains, and the captains had to retrieve them from the audience, with the slowest captain eliminated in each round. Some of these objects included grabbing a twin, a SPA sweatshirt, and a pair of Converse shoes. The last two standing were Girls Tennis captain Audrey Senaratna and Girls Soccer captain Aurelia Meza, and their final task was to catch the Spartan. Senaratna was ahead at first, but Meza was quick to catch up when they turned the corner. It was a close call, but Meza secured the win.
The first round of dodgeball tournament was between “The Administrators” and “Clean Up Crew.” Each team huddled up doing team chants and final strategizing moments before starting. “The Administrators” recruited Upper School Principal Minnie Lee to join as part of their dodgeball team. It was an intense battle and both teams would be firing multiple dodgeball at once. The last one standing on “The Administrators” was senior Dash Horstman, they tried their best but was outnumbered. The first part of the dodgeball tournament ended with Clean Up Crew’s win. “We’re planning to just have fun and give it our best shot. It’s about the journey, not the destination,” senior Rishi Bhargava from the Administrators said.
But that wasn’t the end, after Clean Up Crew‘s victory, they were faced with another challenge: the staff dodgeball team.
Coached by Director of Computer Science and Engineering, Kate Lockwood put together a team of teachers to participate as part of the dodgeball battle. Physics teacher Joseph Martin nominated Dr.Peterson’s head as the team’s MVP. “There was a headshot that contributed to an important elimination of the Clean Up Crew,” Martin said.
The teacher’s team eventually took down the dodgeball champ title.
Entering the ping pong finals, two-time champions, seniors Maik Nguyen and Baasit Mahmood, face off against senior Rita Li and junior Aidan Williams. The match starts off close, with both teams earning one point at a time. Mahmood and Nguyen eventually spread the point gap, turning the game in their favor. Li and Williams made a huge comeback starting from 6:10, stopping Mahmood and Nguyen at match point. Li and Williams earned the title of homecoming ping pong champions with a final score of 12:10. After winning, they were in for a surprise. They would play against the Head of School, Luis Ottley, and Upper School Arts teacher, Daryn Lowman. Li and Williams ended the day with two wins.
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