On Feb. 29, 2024, the class of 2024 hosted its annual Staff vs. Student basketball tournament in the main gym. Featuring a halftime musical chair faceoff and lighting tournament, the event was touted as a success by class of 2024 Vice President Vivian Rizer.
“(The goal) was not only to raise money for the class of 2024 towards our prom budget, but also just to build (the) South community and to bring everybody together,” Rizer said. “With events like this, a lot of people get together and have a great time.”
Since the tournament took place the week after break, Class of 2024 Advisor Shannon Sugamele said she was worried about student turnout. Another setback for the event included conflicting events in the gym, leading the game to be rescheduled from a Friday to a Thursday evening.
“(Class of 2024 council) was a little bit nervous doing it directly after the midwinter break, just because we started advertising it and then nobody thought about it for a week and then it happened a couple days after we got back,” Sugamele said. “All said and done, we had a great turnout and it was super competitive and entertaining.”
In the end, the event turned out to be a success for everyone involved, according to senior team player Sean DeGrand ’24. Although they were knocked out halfway through the tournament, DeGrand said the senior team played well and had fun nevertheless.
“(The game) was a great event all around; a lot of camaraderie by the players,” DeGrand said. “We had a lot of size, so we could own the offensive glass—that really helped in the sophomore game especially. Defensively, we were usually good at communicating and we have a lot of good shooters. Unfortunately, we went cold at the wrong time.”
