(Photo Credit: Cora Masar)
By Cora Masar
When swarms of students dressed in striking neon colors congregate in McClain Auditorium, it can only mean one thing: the Joust opening ceremony. As this year’s blue, red, yellow and green teams settled into their seats, they were restless and ready to begin this favorite Grace College tradition.
To start the night, hosts Leah Bos and Bianca Jimenez-Ortiz laid out the ground rules and then introduced the judges for the flag decorating competition. Brittany Tadesse, Averie Rulli and Chinges Sabol made up the panel to determine the winner. The teams then presented their flags.
Blue’s pirate-themed flag was a truly detailed, carefully crafted work, and their presentation was spot on. With a pirate song playing in the background, the blue team members climbed the pillars in McClain, swords raised.
Following this, the yellow team presented their classy Roman Empire-inspired flag featuring their mascot, the yellow jacket.
Next came the red team. Everyone in the room fell to a hush as the lights dimmed, and the team created a dramatic car-themed entrance for their Lightning McQueen-decorated flag.
The green team formed a tunnel of cheering team members to present their lifelike and artistic flag portraying a gladiator.
Although all teams put obvious work into their flags, the blue team’s flag was the most shipshape, and they took home the victory.
After this, students prepared for the anticipated Alpha chicken nugget-eating competition. Students Isaiah Stockman, Leah Beck, Tyler Yoder and Cameron Ross took the stage and prepared to eat as many nuggets as they could in the allotted time. Students cheered on their teammates, and in the end, Tyler Yoder won first place for the blue team.
Next, Francisco Marquez, Rachel Macy, Kamrin Wilson and Emma Conrad participated in the lettuce-eating contest. This competition went to Rachel Macy of the green team.
The final portion of the ceremony was the arm-wrestling competition. Zeke Stockman, Connor Burris, Carter Parmenter and Donovan Connelly competed in the men’s division. Madison Ramsey, Lillee Stanke, Trinity Hasse and Alexa Doty competed in the women’s division. After several close calls, first place went to Connor Burris of the green team and Trinity Hasse of the blue team.
Students left chattering and cheering, filled with team spirit, excited for what the rest of the weekend might hold.
The Sounding Board 