Competition, camaraderie, and school spirit are three things that are always guaranteed at the UHS annual Unilympics. From shooting three-pointers in basketball to getting a knockout in Super-Smash Bros., Unilympics never disappoints in bringing unmatched levels of excitement and entertainment to every student at the school. The 2024 Unilympics were no exception, bringing new events and more hype than ever before.
Feb. 5 started with Chubby Bunny, a challenge to see which competitive eater from each class would be able to stuff the most marshmallows in their mouth while saying the phrase, “chubby bunny.” In the first round, the freshman and senior class representatives were only able to manage a couple of marshmallows, with the juniors pulling ahead for what should have been a sure victory. However, in the final round, senior Nicholas Kazemifar amazingly managed to shove five full-sized marshmallows into his mouth, a feat impossible for most. The seniors could push through for a borderline victory, with the juniors placing second, the sophomores third and the freshmen in fourth.
The Feb. 6 event was futsal, a version of soccer played indoors on the basketball court. In the first round, the sophomores edged out the seniors for a victory and the juniors wiped out the freshman to sail into round two. In the second round, the seniors went up 3-0 extremely early, but the freshman managed to score three straight goals to make it a tie game. Unfortunately for the freshman, their efforts were not enough, and the seniors regained control and pulled away with a comfortable win. In the final, the juniors and sophomores were in a back-and-forth battle throughout the game, but the juniors finished regulation 3-2. However, a miscommunication resulted in a false 2-2 score, and the game was taken into overtime. The sophomores managed to score the final goal in what was thought to be a victory for them, but the post-game review decided to overrule their victory and give the win to the juniors due to earlier miscommunication. The juniors placed first, sophomores second, seniors third and freshmen last once again.
The next day’s event was Super Smash Bros., a free-for-all video game in which the representatives from each class used a character with different abilities in a fight to the death. Round one saw the sophomores barely beat the seniors, and the freshman won in a landslide victory over the juniors. In a surprising shift in performance, the freshmen were again able to easily beat the sophomore class in a dramatic double knockout ending. That marked the freshmen’s first time taking first place, with the sophomores finishing second, the seniors third, and the juniors last.
On Feb. 8 students played in the classic 5-on-5 configuration for basketball. In round one, the seniors coasted over the sophomores, and the juniors swept the freshmen with a standout performance from junior Denis Senbay, putting the team on his back to carry them into the finals. The final was a very tough matchup, with the juniors heavily favored to win; however, the seniors were able to pull out a complete upset and take home the victory. The game was filled with ups and downs for both teams, but the spirit of both classes never wavered. The sophomores barely beat the freshmen in the reconciliation match to take third place. The seniors would place first, with the juniors second, sophomores third, and freshmen last.
The fifth and final event was dodgeball, the star of the Unilympics events. In the first round, the seniors easily bested the sophomores, and the juniors cleared the freshmen. With the juniors and seniors battling for the title of the winners of Unilympics, it all came down to the final match. The juniors gave a valiant effort, but they could not compete with the stacked senior team, led by seniors Luke Weston and Blaine Anderson, who were both unstoppable in the final.
The final standings had the seniors in first, the juniors in second, the freshmen in third, and the sophomores in last place. The 2024 Unilympics brought all-time highs in spirit and sportsmanship, as students from the different classes competed against each other, but continued to represent University High School in unity as a whole.
