On Sat. evening, March 9,  the BHS PTO held its Fourth Annual Ultimate Dodgeball Dare.

The south gym was packed with fans cheering for their favorite teams. The event, organized by Beachwood parents Dana Darvin, Evy Davis and Melissa Patterson, raised $3,400.

The main sponsors were the Beachwood Place Chick-fil-A and the University Heights Ben & Jerry’s. Chick-fil-A and Ben & Jerry’s donated food, t-shirts and prizes. To add to the evening’s festivities, Chick-fil-A also brought two people dressed as cows, who danced, greeted spectators and encouraged people to “Eat Mor Chikin.” Other sponsors of the event were Aspire Fitness, Audrey’s Sweet Threads, BHS Boosters, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Eton Chagrin, Fantasy Candy, Giant Eagle, Jet’s Pizza, Paladar, Pizza BOGO, Solon Freeway Lanes, Subway and Vegan Sweet Tooth.

The student teams were Indigo League Champions, Manti Te’o & His Imaginary Friends, Off A Cow, Team Cali, The Purple Cobras and THIQ Bodies. The teams comprised of parents, teachers, administrators and school board members were Battle Balls, Crossfit Saol, Excellent With Distinction, Hilltop Moving Targets, No Child Left Standing and Terminated By The Board.

After several hours of competition, Off A Cow, led by junior captain Andrew Kitay, won the tournament. Also playing on this team were senior Alex Angersola and juniors Paul Flowers, Sammy Gross, Ryan Harris, Trevor Sanshuck and Anthony Walden. The team won t-shirts and free Chick-fil-A sandwiches for a year.

Manti Te’o & His Imaginary Friends, led by junior captain Danny Sheridan, came in 2nd. Other team members  included senior Jake Lowenkamp, and juniors Scott Arkin, Jeremy Ducoff, Sam Ducoff, Alex Glassman and Daniel Rodriguez. The team won gift cards to Subway and to Dick’s Sporting Goods.

Indigo League Champions, headed by junior captain Zach Davis, was voted “The Most Spirited Team.” This team also included seniors Eric Novick, Aaron Paley and Jordan Rose, and juniors David Corty, Wes Darvin, Sam Diamond and Nathan Wolkoff. The team won Ben & Jerry’s T-shirts, free ice cream cones and a Vermonster—a huge sundae with 20 scoops of ice cream, bananas, brownies, cookies, hot fudge and a variety of toppings.

Terminated By The Board, organized by captain Mitch Luxenburg, also won prizes. Other members were Lauren Broderick, Bob Hardis, Dan McIntyre, Craig Petti, Steve Rosen and Ken Veon. The team won movie passes to Solon Digiplex Theaters, free pizza from Jet’s Pizza and complimentary personal training sessions from Aspire Fitness.

“Proceeds from the Ultimate Dodgeball Dare benefit the BHS PTO’s programs, which include after proms, scholarships, students in need, school clubs and organizations that need support,” explained Darvin and Davis. “We also give a $1,500 gift to the school every other year.”

Davis added, “All of the money we raised came directly from registration fees for teams, admission fees from spectators, raffle tickets and food sales. This year’s event was a great success. Thank you to all the parent volunteers, as well as everyone who played and came to watch.”

BHS Principal and No Child Left Standing team member Ed Klein was enthusiastic about the tournament. “This is a great event. We’ve got a lot of community members out here, a lot of teachers are participating in this, and it’s good to see the students out here having a good time.”

BMS 7th grade social studies teacher and Excellent with Distinction team member Garth Holman also enjoyed the event. “It’s a lot of fun, we had a great time, we’re glad to be here.” Holman warned that his team will be back next year and plans to dominate the competition.

“It’s nice to come out and see a bunch of old students and family that we haven’t seen in a while,” commented BMS 6th grade science teacher Robb Ristau, also an Excellent With Distinction team member. “It’s a great event for the whole community.” Ristau joked that his team is planning to start training immediately for next year’s tournament.

Senior and Indigo League Champions team member Aaron Paley competed in the Ultimate Dodgeball Dare for the first time. “I think it’s really fun. If you have a group of friends that you hang out with, why not? You’re going to get some kind of prize out of it. It’s just a blast,” he said.