Stir Fry became the 12th team to be named Kickball Mania Champions, since the tournament first began in 2006.

“Kickball is an event that students look forward to, and we are honored that it has been such a staple,” founder of Kickball Mania Coach Calzone commented.

Students know to expect Kickball Mania at the close of every school year and many begin planning their teams once second semester begins. While previous years have seen more student participation, this year has been fiercely competitive and spirited. The top teams featured this year were Uncle Drew Select, Stir Fry, and KBU. Stir Fry was the first to clench a spot by going undefeated the first 4 tournament days.

By fighting through an initial loss to KBU, Uncle Drew Select defeated every team that challenged them and eventually beat KBU in a rematch on day 4 in back-to-back games to become the second team to make it to the championship game.

“After we won two games the day before, I thought we’d easily beat Stir Fry, and I think we should’ve only needed to beat them once, but it’s too late to change it now,” Senior and Uncle Drew Captain Daniel Biglow commented.

Due to being undefeated, Stir Fry had a safety net going into the championship game, so even if they lost the first game they would have to lose again because of the tournament’s double elimination rule.

Stir Fry ended up needing that safety net, because they lost the first game 4-1, but managed to win in an intense second game that ended 1-0.

“Winning the ‘ship was great. It was a lot of fun to win the tournament with all of my close friends and it was a really good week to be playing kickball,” Senior Royce Luedde commented. “I’m sad that I won’t be able to play and compete for another championship next year.”

Next year is expected to have a higher number of participants; who will be our next champion?