Field Day at Catholic High leaves everyone excited
The field is packed. Students and teachers crowd around, watching the classes battle it out in thrilling games of football, volleyball, kickball, and dodgeball, all hoping their grade comes out on top.
Each year at Catholic High, students compete in Field Day. Each class chooses certain students to play in specific sports. In past years, football, kickball, and volleyball were the only games present. But this year, Father Friend added dodgeball to the mix. “Dodgeball was a fun and new addition to get 15 more guys involved. That’s, overall, the goal of Field Day,” said Father Friend.
Students were dismissed in the middle of the sixth period to grab ice cream and head down to the field to watch the games. To make it more interesting, the freshmen faced the juniors, and the sophomores battled against the seniors. Sophomore Weston Jones said, “I played dodgeball, and it was fun to play against the seniors. Didn’t get anyone out though.”
Everyone wanted to win, even the freshmen. The youngest kids in school entered the volleyball competition as underdogs, but came out on top. Freshman Jack Pittman said, “It was a lot of fun to play volleyball. I wasn’t expecting many people to watch it, but it turned into a competitive scene, especially when the juniors were losing to us. After both games, we all stormed the court out of happiness for winning.”
When word spread that the freshmen were winning, students crowded around the court, which added to the excitement of their victory. Their win kept them neck and neck with the juniors going into the mysterious finale. Jones said, “I wasn’t rooting for the freshmen, but props to them for winning so much. They were ‘fresh men’.”
The final mystery game was revealed to be a “bucket brigade,” in which each class had to pass a bucket of water from one end of the field to the next, quickly and without spilling it. Father Friend said, “I wanted something that would get as many students involved as possible, and the bucket brigade was the best thing I could come up with.”
Working with an entire class can be difficult, however. The sophomores, who had gained a measly one point throughout the whole competition, miscommunicated and began throwing their bucket behind them after it was emptied, leading to a mountain of penalties. In the end, sophomore Beckham Mackenzie ran with the bucket and let everyone touch it to catch up. Pittman said, “I thought the sophomores were geniuses. I found it funny watching everyone throw the bucket behind themselves.”
In the end, the seniors finished first, with the juniors and freshmen not too far behind. Then the students huddled together for an Alma Mater, the seniors took a picture with the trophy, and all were dismissed, sweaty but happy. Father Friend said, “I thought Field Day this year was great. The weather was nice, everyone had fun, and no one was injured.”
