Menlo Olympics: 16 Teams To Compete

Just weeks after Menlo hosted the Special Olympics, the Student Athlete Leadership Committee (SALC) put on their own Menlo Olympics for all Menlo College students to participate in. The competitions were held Monday through Thursday, with BBQ's Sunday and Saturday. There was also a carnival in the quad on Thursday which included dinner, cotton candy, a Rockstar Energy Drink tent, blow-up slides, sumo-wrestling, games, and a beach volleyball tournament.

Each team competed for a grand prize of 200 dollars, to be split among their teammates. Each event was scored 1^st to 5^th place. 1^st place received 10 points, 2^nd place received seven, 3^rd place collected five, 4^th place just three points, and 5^th place took one point. The final relay was the only event with first place getting 15 points and the rest to follow.

Senior Angela Woerz is part of the SALC Committee and was one of the main people coordinating the event. "The SALC Olympic games were a big hit. It was great seeing a lot of people come out and have fun competing in the games with each other" said, Woerz. Woerz competed in the Olympic Games with her own softball teammates who won the award for Best Team Uniforms.

 The competition heated up early as athletes from the teams went head to head in a basketball game Monday night. Each round was "Win or Go Home" and each game lasted 10 minutes. The two teams that ended up in the finals were the Ablock and Team 1, with Ablock coming out victorious.

Tuesday night the event was dodge ball. All the teams had a great time playing the school-yard game, but the same two teams from the night before made it to the finals. This time however it was the Team 1 who took the victory.

Wednesday night was originally scheduled to be a kick ball tournament, but SALC President Katelyn Guild, changed her mind because the gym would've been too small to host the tournament in an efficient amount of time. Instead, the teams combined to play a couple big games and all teams received an equal five points.

On the last day, the teams competed in a scavenger hunt around the entire school. The hunt included items like take a picture with a Hawaiian, get a 1993 penny, and for bonus points take a picture of someone in the pool. All teams ran around the campus until finally Team 1 came in first with all the tasks checked off.

There were 16 teams in the weeklong event, most teams consisting of athletes from all different sports. Winning the Menlo Olympics overall was Team 1. Second place went to a team with the Men's Basketball team members on it, and Ablock took third place.