Sweat dripped down the opponents’ faces, soaking into their t-shirts.
Arm raised, one of them lets out a battle cry.
Carihi teacher Jason Kerluck had won the wrestling match, so out came a rotten old fish from a garbage pail, lipstick and all, ready to be kissed by Timberline principal Jeremy Morrow.
Carihi’s pep really Nov. 28 filled the school with energy and team spirit. A mass of blue, yellow, white and green packed hallways all day.
Before lunch period, students lined the gym to enjoy a balloon popping contest, a dance competition karaoke and pie eating—very quickly without hands for more enthusiasm, of course.
Finally, the wrestling mats were rolled out for the Kiss the Fish match between Kerluck and Murphy.
Kerluck pinned Murphy late in the third round, leading to the fish, Carihi’s mascot, being kissed by the losing school’s principal. This also led to Carihi’s gym smelling like fish for the following week.
This was the first pep-rally at Carihi in two years, so students were particularly excited. In 2011, the spirit got a bit rougher than anticipated.
This year, students planning the event did their best to avoid grade versus grade competition, allowing the rally to run smoothly.
Carihi principal Sean Toal said the spirited event “was a lot of fun.”