By KRISHNA PATEL

Loud cheers and chants sounded the new gym as the four classes competed against each other in a battle of teamwork, spirit, and strength. On May 19, the JP Stevens Student Council hosted the annual Battle of the Classes, which decided the winner of the year-long competition between the freshman, sophomore, junior, and senior classes. A panel of teachers, including Mrs. Lasko, Mrs. Brandstetter, Ms. Terrill, and Ms. Teboul, served as judges and decided on the winner of the competition.

Since the beginning of the year, each class garnered points by participating in spirit days like Flip-Flop Day and Mismatch Day and class competitions like the Christmas Tree Decoration and Hall Decoration. The points accumulated through these spirit days contributed to the final standings announced after the event.

The event began with each class performing a chant and a dance. After the dances were choreographed by members of the core team, each grade held many meetings where members of the team learned the dance and the chant. Senior Matt Flores stated, “Being my first time ever choreographing, it was very challenging but it was all worth it. Making sure that everything was clean, spacing was on point, and energy was up was definitely not easy to keep track of, but after all of the tears and sweat, we made it!” The sophomore class would later be awarded first place for the chant while the junior class would be given first place for the dance.

After the dances were performed to an eager audience, the four classes participated in many competitive activities that involved both the core team and the audience members. In the under-over basketball relay, players passed the ball over their heads while the player behind them passed the ball between their legs. The seniors were the first to complete the relay, while the juniors followed behind with a close second. The teams then participated in the hula hoop pass, where team members linked hands and formed a large circle with a hula hoop trapped between the arms of two players. The sophomores were able to complete this event in the least amount of time and were awarded first place.

While the previous games focused on speed, the tug-of-war competition centered on the strength of the classes and was won by the senior class. The balloon pop challenge was another relay that followed, where players sprinted to a chair, popped a balloon by sitting on it, and then ran back to their team. The sophomores won through their speed and teamwork.

A new event, introduced in place of the crab-soccer game played in previous years, was the hungry hippos challenge, where a participant had to grab the most colorful balls while laying backside up on a scooter with another player pushing the scooter. The seniors came out victorious in this challenge while the sophomores finished close behind in second place. Mr. Baer remarked, “The idea behind the new game came from Battle of the Teachers last year. The game was a success with the teachers, so we decided to implement it this year. We decided that we wanted an event that could be just as fun, but quicker to finish.”

The final event of the night, the obstacle course, was a combination of different tasks completed in the form of a relay race. Pairs of two performed each part of the race, attempting to complete their task as quickly as possible before running to the next station where the succeeding pairs waited. The sophomores were able to complete the course in the shortest amount of time, winning first place while the seniors won second place.

The scores for the grades were announced with the freshmen placing fourth, sophomores with third, juniors with second, and the seniors winning the competition. While the audience enjoyed the event from the stands, the members of all four teams had a different outlook on the event. Junior Saachi Joshi stated, “We worked extremely hard and practiced so much that our team became our family as well. It was a truly amazing experience and I’m glad I was able to do it with some great people by my side.”