Campolindo’s very own March Madness tournament is something a lot of students look forward to, both for those who play in the tournament and for those who watch it. It takes place in the main gym for two weeks of March, where students can watch their friends and teachers play basketball against each other.
There were 32 teams to start out with this year. Students got to choose teams of three and made creative names for their team like “We Loose, You Fail,” or “Landone Calzone.”
Once the teams are created, “leadership put together a bracket, and then you get assigned to play the first round,” said sophomore Luke McLeod. Then the teams move up the bracket until the final four, which decides the two teams that go to the championship.
The final four teams were “We Lose, You Fail” versus “Landone Calzone”, and “Dunk Dunk Dunk” versus “Late Night Grubbin”. For the championship game the teams were “Late Night Grubbin” versus “Landone Calzone”. “The last game was really fun because everyone was shouting and cheering,” said junior Ren Marchetti, member of “Late Night Grubbin”.
The winner of the tournament was “Late Night Grubbin”, which included Marchetti, junior Hayden O’Hare, and junior Kiumars Koopah. “This was my first year [playing], I’m glad that we won it,” said Marchetti.
A great aspect of Campo’s March Madness is that anyone can participate in it, no matter their level of skill in basketball. “You don’t even have to like basketball, if it’s not your sport, it’s still super fun and a way to get involved,” said McLeod.
Many students enjoy Campo’s March Madness simply as an opportunity to become active and enjoy time with friends. “It was casual but still super competitive, and it’s fun to play basketball against people that are also friends,” said senior Peter Appleton.
However, this year’s March Madness turned out to be very male dominated. A goal some of the players have for next year is to make the event more accessible for Campo’s girl population, both those who do play basketball or those who just want to have fun. “I think if you could open it up to more girls it’d be really fun,” said senior Jake Spencer.
