SADD Spikeball Tournament: Charity Champions
On Saturday, October 23, the Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD) hosted their first-ever charity spikeball tournament. For this event, teams of two could sign up for ten dollars and then compete in this epic competition. Each team chose a charity to play for, and the proceeds went to the winning duo’s cause.
The event had a great turnout with representation from every grade level at the competition. Seventeen teams, including one made up of Mr. Frake and Coach Bare, showed up on a cold Saturday morning to play. The teams were split up into four different pools, and after each team had played five games, the top two teams from each pool advanced to the playoffs.
The playoffs were set up in a double-elimination format, meaning that the eight teams that advanced could afford to lose a game without being eliminated. Of course, the road to the championship is much easier when you keep winning, but momentum could be built for a team following an early playoff loss.
After the first hour and a half of the competition, more than half of the teams were eliminated, and only the top eight teams remained. Everyone watched as Mr. Frake drew up the playoff bracket while announcing the deserving quarterfinalists. The last eight teams went back onto the field, attempting to win the money for their charity.
As the tournament reached its conclusion, only two teams remained: seniors Zack Settino and Ben Patterson faced off against fellow seniors Owen Pegler and James Durney. Settino and Patterson had won all seven of their games going into this finale, while Pegler and Durney had gone on an incredible run after losing a thrilling match in the first round of the playoffs, coming all the way back up the losers bracket to book their spot in the championship.
Pegler and Durney looked to complete this magical run with a massive upset against their classmates, but the Settino-Patterson duo was unable to be stopped even in a game to 21 points. Settino and Patterson took the championship match and capped off a perfect 8-0 day, becoming the first-ever SADD spikeball tournament champions.
With Settino and Patterson having won the tournament, all the funds raised by the competitors will be donated to Alayna Jayne’s Journey, which goes to help Alayna Riozzi-Bodine. Alayna is a senior at St. Rose who has recently been diagnosed with Stage II Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. The money raised from this event will go to support the medical care for her and her family.
Although there was only one champion in this tournament, there were a lot of laughs and tons of high fives to go around as the tournament was a great way to get all grade levels involved and outside the classroom early into the school year. And as Mr. Frake would say: good times were had by all.
With this event being such a great success for SADD and the entire CBA community, SADD looks to host another spikeball tournament in the spring. Everyone is encouraged to come out and participate and play for a charity. There, it will be seen if Settino and Patterson can defend their title, or if a new team will set up and be crowned champions.
