Third Annual Crusader Games goes virtual
E.J. Odocayen (top left), Zachary Charlton (top right), Danilo Herger (bottom left) and Will Miller (bottom right) were this year’s seniors chosen to compete in The Gauntlet.
June 25, 2020
The Third Annual Crusader Games were held in a two-week online competition rather than the traditional Crusader Games on the campus of Archbishop Riordan. Through the difficult and unusual times of the COVID-19 pandemic, student parliament managed to adapt to a new Crusader Games.
Benny Willers ’08, Joey Klobas ’07 and student parliament worked around the pandemic closure of schools to allow the Archbishop Riordan community to finish the year off strong through friendly competition. Taking a different approach for such an anticipated event was definitely a new obstacle student parliament had to overcome.
Willers explained the virtual Crusader games that took place from May 4 to May 18. “Because we are going online for the first time ever, Joey and I decided that it would be best to take this approach. Instead of your usual 50 plus games, you will get a select amount that focuses on different categories!”
Questions arose from how the participation would affect the Crusader Games this year.
The concern for participation was definitely in the back of all the student parliament members’ minds, but School Captain Michael Gray ’20 believed social media helped keep the Riordan community together. “I think it’s hard to honestly say that we have higher levels of intensity and hype for the Crusader Games this year due to the inherently apathetic nature of the quarantine,” Gray said. “However, I think we’ve made progress in terms of using social media platforms in order to increase awareness and involvement. I think given the circumstances, I see a reasonable amount of excitement.”
Going into the Crusader Games, Bolts held the lead at 1465 points. The three categories that the Crusader Games were
divided into included, Athletics, Arts, and Video Games.
After two weeks of competition, the final results came in with Bolts taking home the Crusader Games trophy, finishing at 484 points. The remaining standings were: Cana in second at 316, Russi with 234, and Pilar with 231.
In The Gauntlet, Cana’s EJ Odocayen came in first, followed by Will Miller for Russi, Zachary Charlton for Pilar, and Danilo Herger representing Bolts.
Bolts also took home the Chaminade Cup with 1,949 points, followed by Cana with 1,720, Pilar at 1,692, and defending champion Russi with 1,684.