Haley Hughes

Math teacher Tyler Lingle goes up against Kyle Le (12) for the tip-off to start the Students v. Teachers basketball game Jan. 25. “My favorite part of the game was Sawyer announcing my name as MVP. I was completely shocked, and then everyone lifted me up,” Le said. Le may not have been capable of jumping high enough to win the tip-off, but he felt that he showed he could shoot from different areas around the court.

On Jan. 25, a group of students played a friendly basketball game against several teachers, which ended with the students winning 68-58. The game was sponsored by Student Council to raise money for their group. 

“I chose to play in the game because I played sports as a kid and I loved it. I also think it’s such a good opportunity to show the kids that it is fun to get involved with school events,” Spanish teacher Alexis Caldwell said.

Even though the teachers were 10 points down, in the end, many of them enjoyed just being there and playing against each other. 

“My favorite part of the game was to see Kierson make an alley-oop dunk. It was a big deal because it is just so hard to do,” Bryce Kesselring (12) said. “It was great to beat the teachers, and mostly everyone from the student team scored.”

Although the teachers were able to keep up with the students, it got difficult because of the short number of subs on the teacher’s team.  

“Yeah [it was a physical challenge playing consecutively]. I am old. Trying to keep up with the young pups was a struggle,” PE teacher Michael Genge said. “I will play [in the future games] as long as my legs continue to allow me to.”

While some of the teachers might have been hesitant about how they would hold up against a younger generation, many of the student participants felt confident in winning even before the warmups. 

“I didn’t really warm up too much. I got a couple of shots up and dribbled around for a little bit, but that was about it,” Kyle Le (12) said. “Warmed up or not, I was going to cook some teachers anyways.” 

Overall, the game was exciting and eventful for both students and teachers, especially for one certain senior who was announced as ‘MVP’ of the game. 

“To be honest, I was not expecting to get MVP at all. I don’t know how I got it, but the feeling of getting lifted up by my teammates was a very memorable moment for my senior year,” Le said. “I showed up to the game with zero expectations, but I walked out of the gym with the biggest smile on my face. The game was much more fun than I thought.”

Though the students will be different, some of the teachers who played this year are already forgetting this loss and looking forward to next year’s game. 

“It was so fun, and even though we lost, it was still fun,” Caldwell said. “We only lost by 10, so I think we can make a comeback next year.”