Outside in the frigid weather, day three of Spirit Week had the Upper School competing in the classic fan-favorite event, Tug of War. All “A” and “B” teams followed the same bracket – 12th grade against 9th grade followed by 11th grade against 10th grade. The winners then faced off for first and second place, while the losers faced off for third and fourth. As students were let out for the event, not even the cold weather could contain the students’ all-around excitement.

“B Bracket”:

The first competition of 9th grade Team B against Senior Team B ended almost instantly. Once the students were checked and the whistle blew, the class of 2023 almost immediately emerged victorious. Following that matchup were the Sophomores and the Juniors. After a long and difficult battle of strength between the two classes, the Juniors eventually managed to pull the Sophomores over the line and claim the victory.

In a battle for third and fourth place, the Sophomores and the 9th grade went into an intense back and forth, culminating with the 9th grade losing their footing and the Sophomores pulling away with a third place finish.

A highlight, and a complete surprise of the day, was the result of the first-place competition. At the sound of the whistle, the Seniors got off to an incredibly strong start, slowly moving the Juniors inch by inch and nearly all the way to the winning mark. However, as the Seniors were pulling, the Juniors never gave up, continuously maintaining strong resistance to the Seniors strength. The Juniors eventually managed to muster enough strength, and in a final burst of energy, pulled away with the victory and an upset against the Seniors.

“A Bracket”:

Following the stunning upset in Group B was the competition for Group A. Leading off Group A tug was the Seniors against the 9th grade. The Senior class won with ease in a competition that lasted less than 10 seconds.

After the quick victory, there was an almost evenly matched Sophomore class against the Juniors. The Sophomore team dug deep, dragging the Juniors across the field, and pulling themselves into a possible first place. Miles Wilkins ’25, who competed for the sophomores, said, “I thought, ‘No way that just happened.’ I thought maybe they were holding out on us. But we had a lead on them, and I thought, ‘Oh, we got this!’ I was really happy and proud.” The only thing standing between the Sophomores and an incredible victory was the Seniors. 

There was great tension in the air during the fight for first and second place. When the whistle from Mr. Cotter sounded, both teams immediately gave it their all. Unlike their fantastic win against the 9th grade, the Senior class took a more patient approach against the Sophomores by gradually dragging them step by step. While the Sophomores never fully gave up, they eventually lost their footing, securing the Senior victory for Group A. As music played from a speaker and the Senior flag waved in the air, there was nothing but celebration for the classes of 2023 and 2025: the former with a much-deserved and long-awaited victory, and the latter with a nearly unthinkable upset and high hopes for the future.

For the Senior class, a key contributor to their victory was Artese Brown. Brown commented on their win, stating, “It was expected and a long time coming. I feel like the win was deserved of our grade and I’m just happy we were able to come away with the victory. I feel like … it was only right that we came away with it this year.”

Marking the halfway point to Spirit Week, classes are beginning to look towards the scoreboard, where the Junior class is in 1st place with 337.5 points, followed closely by the Seniors with 287.5 points, then the Sophomores with 237.5 points, and in fourth place is the 9th grade with 137.5 points.