By Cielestia Calbay
Student groups brought lessons learned in gym class and put
their best feet forward as they were pitted against one another in
the second annual Make-A-Wish Dodgeball Tournament Thursday.
Sporting coordinating outfits, 16 teams comprised of athletes,
Greeks and student leaders competed in the intense foam ball battle
in front of the Kellogg Gym.
Sponsored by the Bronco Athletics Association, the tournament
was held as a fundraising effort for the Make-A-Wish
Foundation.
Though the event was down five teams compared to last year, it
garnered more than $500, adding to the more than $3,000 the
association has raised for the Make-A-Wish to date.
“This was a great way to bring the campus together and to add to
the student life and spirit the school has to offer,” said Lorena
Marquez, athletics marketing coordinator.
Each team played each other at least once during the two games
that were being held simultaneously.
One by one, teams were knocked off the list to move on to the
next round, leading up to the final showdown between Pichinini
Waddles and Team Webisode.
Fourteen rounds and three hours in the blistering sun later,
Team Webisode was crowned dodgeball champions and walked away with
gift cards to Subway and Golden Spoon.
Pichinini Waddles was made up of players from the men’s soccer
team.
Team Webisode was made up of men’s tennis’ Eric Carlstrom,
baseball’s Jordan Alcantar and Brandon King, men’s soccer’s Tyler
Reinhart and former baseball player Bryan Banes.
“All five of us were on various [dodgeball] teams last year, and
we all got to see each other play, so we thought we could make the
ultimate dodgeball team if we joined forces,” laughed Carlstrom, a
fourth-year communication student.
Carlstrom says the team was finalized at the last minute, and
they didn’t feel the need to prep before the big tournament.
“We didn’t practice ahead of time because we thought all of our
individual athletic abilities would translate to the dodgeball
court quite well,” said Carlstrom.
“We obviously wanted to win the title, but it was more about
raising money for the Make-A-Wish Foundation.”
The team’s name, “Team Webisode,” was inspired by Carlstrom and
Alcantar’s weekly 10-minute webisodes that are featured on Billy
Bronco’s Facebook.
Going by the stage names “Easy Street” and “J-bone”
respectively, Carlstrom and Alcantar feature topics on Bronco
athletics, as well as campus-related events.
Team Webisode wasn’t the only one who walked away with a title,
as The Backwalkers took home the title of best dressed during the
competition’s costume contest.
Made up of members of the Visitor’s Center, The Backwalkers won
for their coordinating t-shirts specifically designed for the
tournament.
Last year, the title went to the members of Phi Kappa Alpha who
dressed up as the Village People.
Other organizations that competed in the tournament included
Team B.E.S.T., recent ASI election winners; West Region, members of
the men’s basketball team; Love and Company, members of the women’s
tennis team; Chi Omega and Sigma Nu.
“I was really happy with the turnout because this was a good way
to bring people together while putting on a fun fundraiser,” said
Hayley Smith, a third-year civil engineering student and vice
president of external affairs for the Bronco Athletics
Association.
Reach Cielestia Calbay at lifestyle@thepolypost.com
Suzanne Khazaal/Poly Post
Students bring A-game to dodgeball
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