At the start of the year, Antioch Community High School introduced a hopeful new tradition that recognizes the most spirited grade levels. The gold cup sits with empty plaques on its sides, and each grade has an opportunity to win points towards it at multiple school events throughout the year.
The idea, brought about by Spanish teacher Melissa Garcia, was established with the goal of getting students competitive and excited at pep assemblies.
“We were kind of going for how we can get people involved,” Garcia said. “We were trying to figure out how we can get [the students] to want to win.”
The competitiveness of the games was embraced both in and outside of the pep assemblies as students made friendly banter and jokes about the rivalries. Junior Lynea Sekany made sure to protect her grade’s honor.
“The juniors deserve to win because this class overall has shown the most spirit,” Sekany said. “When it comes to competing against the seniors, we have the most pride and competitiveness. We want to be the best class, and we’ve proven it at pep assemblies.”
Following the first assembly of the school year, the class of ’23 sat on top with two points, closely followed by ’22 with one point. While ’24 and ’25 did not receive any points from the first assembly, they were not about to let that stop them. On Thursday, Oct. 7, the pep assembly gave them the opportunity to get back in the race. This resulted in the freshmen and sophomores each earning a point on the board, seniors in a close second with three and the juniors continuing to lead with four.
The competitiveness between the upperclassmen is displayed more as the juniors continue to come out on top after assemblies. Senior Paytin Rasmussen described her support for the seniors as beyond class bias.
“My money is honestly on the seniors, and I’m not just saying that because I’m a senior,” Rasmussen said. “I totally believe that the seniors have the most school spirit. They’ve gotten to a point where they have to lead a good example for the younger kids. As a senior, you become the role model that the underclassmen want to be like.”
The class of ’22 has been anxiously fighting as it will simultaneously be their first and last chance to win the cup. They have been battling a close competition with the juniors and have not shown any signs of giving up easily. When asked who she was secretly rooting for, Garcia explained her slight favor to the seniors.
“I really love the senior class, so I’m going to go for them,” Garcia said. “I think it will be a battle between the juniors and the seniors.”
Garcia believes the confidence and comfort at school the upperclassmen have will give them an edge.
“[The upperclassmen] know the culture here and that it’s okay to put yourself out there, and [they] are a little bit more comfortable to do that,” Garcia said.
Rasmussen agreed with Garcia when talking about the competitiveness of the upperclassmen.
“I think it is going to come down to the wire between seniors and juniors,” Rasmussen said. “They are both really competitive classes that are going to fight to be the top dog.”
Despite the competitive nature between the upperclassmen, the games were actually created with the freshmen in mind. They were initiated with the goal that they will get some competitive spirit going within the freshmen and feel more comfortable with the ACHS culture.
“Freshmen were kind of shy for that first assembly,” Garcia said. “Hopefully, freshmen kind of break out of their shell and contribute to the competition.”
Classes can support their grade level by participating in spirit weeks and working together to compete at pep assemblies throughout the year. ACHS is known for its spirit and passion, and the spirit cup will prove what grade level truly has the most Sequoit pride. Garcia provided an insider scoop on how grade levels could win some extra points during the upcoming week.
“During homecoming week, we’re going to have some lunch competitions,” Garcia said. “Every time a class wins, they get a point.”
Rasmussen provided some additional information on the upcoming events.
“The next time a class can get a point is guessing the closest answer for the jellybean contest,” Rasmussen said. “We also have an ‘anything but a backpack’ competition going on during Wednesday of homecoming week.”
Students can look forward to a significant period of time to gather the most points for their classes by participating in the daily dress days and looking out for other fun mini-games. The juniors and seniors will be competing to gain an edge on the other, but they cannot forget about the underclassmen who may be ready to make a comeback.
