The gym filled with not only students, but also anticipation and excitement. Walls of green, red, white, and orange filed in through the doors on November 21st to attend the sold out Battle of the Classes (BOTC) competition. BOTC is an event in which each grade competes in different games and activities to see who which grade is truly superior. The night ends with a culminating lipsync dance that is each grade’s final push to come out on top.

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The true festivities started on Friday, November 17th, when the Find the Patriot clue was announced. Each team used this hint in order to locate where the mascot was hidden. The winner of this event was the juniors who found the picture in record time.

The fun continued the following Monday with costume day. The seniors were hungrier than ever to come out with a win and brought their best foot forward. The freshmen dressed up as “Freshmen from the Future,” sophomores as “Sophomore Soldiers,” juniors as “Juniors from Jupiter,” and seniors as “Senior Looney Tunes.” Ultimately, the efforts by the seniors paid off and they came out victorious.

The night of BOTC was nothing but exciting. The crowd of all grades was electric and there was no denying a distinct rivalry between the seniors and juniors. As the teams ran in one by one, the atmosphere grew more and more surreal. The day had finally come that all their hard work was going to come to an.

The night kicked off with scooter races, which was dominated by the seniors. Next up was the egg toss. The sophomores and freshmen dropped fast, but the seniors and juniors stayed till the very end. The juniors ultimately beat out the seniors in this event.

After this, they played a riveting game of chicken in the hen house. The sophomores were the first ones out, then the freshmen, then the seniors, and the juniors were victorious. After that, the junkyard relay took place, which is a favorite among the crowd. While trying to juggle each item, it was again the juniors who came out victorious.

Next on the line up was a new brain game. Each team was asked a question, such as find the value of x when 4x equals 200. The team then had to run to a group of cups and try to pick up the right cup without using their hands, only a balloon. Each question had multiple cups and the competitors had to keep running back and forth until they picked up the right cup, which went on for four questions.

Ultimately, the freshmen came in last, then the seniors, then the sophomores, and then the juniors.
Up next on this night was tug-o-war. Each team had strong players so it was exciting to watch. The girls had a fierce competition between the seniors and juniors, with the juniors winning at the last second. The senior boys dominated their event and took home first place.

The final event before lip-sync was the balloon pop. It started out as an even playing field, but soon the seniors fell behind. The juniors won this round and were ahead now by leaps and bounds.

Finally lip sync came around and each dance had unique attributes that made them enjoyable to watch. The freshmen dance showed evidence of a ton of practice and effort and an overall cohesiveness. The sophomore dance was filled with cool tricks and flips that is normally not expected of underclassmen. The juniors pulled off an extremely comical dance and had the whole gym laughing. The seniors brought the gym to tears as their touching ending sent chills down the audiences’ arms.

The dances were amazing to watch and were indicative of how much pride these teammates put into BOTC. The lip sync was won by the seniors and all that was left to do was wait for the final results.

The gym was filled with suspension until finally it was announced that the juniors had one. This is only the second time in school history that the seniors have lost. The junior’s athleticism and bond were evident tonight as they dominated almost every event. However, that is not to discredit the heart of each and every member of the senior team and the rest. BOTC is a truly unique event and no one does it better than Township.

article by Lindsey Golotko, pictures by Bianca Hazel, Daphne Lombardi, and Lindsey Golotko