Cosmos Volleyball defeated the Student Engagement and Leadership Office to win the Wicked Week Costume Dodgeball Tournament on Wednesday, Oct. 28.
Six teams competed in the tournament, hosted by Cosmos Volleyball at the East-West University gym. The teams represented Renegades Soccer, Galahad Medieval Combat Society, Black Wolves Basketball and the Board Game Club, Latino Alliance, the SEAL Office and Cosmos Volleyball.
The tournament was hosted last year by the Renegades Quadball Team, which has since disbanded. Cosmos Volleyball took over organizing the event this year.
Cosmos replaced the Renegades as the school mascot last fall, after months of student input, open submissions and a campuswide vote, the Chronicle previously reported.
Each team played against each other at least once. The championship match featured the SEAL Office and Cosmos Volleyball. Senior Associate Provost for Academic Operations Nathan Bakkum and Emmanuel Lalande, senior vice president of Enrollment Strategy and Student Success, played with the volleyball team.
“It’s so cool to connect with students outside of the classroom, to see a different side of our students’ creativity and commitment,” said Bakkum, associate professor in the School of Audio and Music.
Students wore costumes, from a banana to Shane Hollander, a character from the award-winning television series “Heated Rivalry.” Bakkum and Lalande were not in costume.
Bronwyn Russell, a co-captain of the Galahad Medieval Combat Society, wore a leather jacket, a face mask and face paint, a signature look for the group.
“It’s a lot warmer in the gym than outside, so the number of layers on this thing was an interesting challenge when inside that I haven’t anticipated,” said Russell, a junior photojournalism major.
Jeremy Rivera, a senior illustration major, played with the Latino Alliance, even though he was not originally on its team.
He played the game strategically, “waiting patiently and waiting for the enemy to strike first,” Rivera said.
The SEAL Office team spread out across its side of the court, keeping players moving to avoid getting hit.
“When we got down to just a few people, we tried to group together to catch them off guard,” said Ambrose Velasco Jenkins, a member of the SEAL Office team and a junior double major in musical theatre and theatre arts production and practice.
Beyond the competition, the tournament brought together students from different academic programs.
“Bringing students from different majors together brings us closer together,” Rivera said.
Copy edited by Venus Tapang
