While Raptor Ball may be a foreign concept to some of you, for the Class of 2024 it is an exciting event started by the Senior Class President, Suzanna Carlsten. Occurring only once before, in our sophomore year, when Suzanna was Treasurer, we were excited to bring this dodgeball-style tournament back to the AMHS gym. She says that she got her inspiration from her Moultrie middle school past and hopes that it will become a tradition for further Senior classes and expand to other grade levels. Raptor Ball can be defined as another form of a dodgeball tournament where teams, placed in a bracket, will play to win the tiara prize. It is expected that the same spirit brought to the magnet community during spirit week is brought to the Raptor Ball tournament. 

Raptor Ball consists of 8 teams, each with 8 members and a team theme.

Team John McQueen

• Bowen Gao, Colin George, Nicholas Pawlucy, Nicholas Edwards, John Erik Lester, Andrew Angermeier, Grayson Goodier, Campbell Lesher
• I give this theme a 9/10 for the effort put into the outfits and wigs… gotta love the spirit. 1 point docked for the 2 members who were left wigless.

Team Ferda

• Wyatt Mahoney, Cole Davis, Wilson Burns, Thomas Martin, Beatty Cummings, Lucas Browder, James Prutting, Nate Markin
• I give this theme a 7/10 because they brought back the same theme from sophomore year, however, I have to say that I am not a fan of the leg sleeves… at that point, just wear pants.

The Imaginary Numbers

• Keren Collins, Rin Baylock, Ava Irwin, Ava Trolley, Michael Lee, Lizzie Matthews, Abram Schuler, Sean O’Brien
• This theme earns a 9/10. I love the creativity and the all-blue color scheme. However, one member seems to be repping some Team John McQueen merch… hmmm…

CASHBACS

• Chloe Carlsten, Ava Smoak, Sutton Meyer, Holly Manning, Betsy Bailey, Alexa Conlon, Cliffie Manuel, and Suzanna Carlsten. 
• 10/10, although it is hard to see in the photo, each member of this team had the letter of their names on the front and back of their shirts, spelling out their team name CASHBACS. Love the creativity!

Delta

• Lauren Faust, Harper Riley, Carolina Carrara, Wren Allen, Gabby Do, Morgan Fletcher, Emerson Wiseman, and a special guest appearance of James King (not pictured)
• 7/10 I love an all-black theme, but I feel as though this was not as creative as it could’ve been.

Los Monitos

• Elliott Brady, Armando Reyes, Ben Brock, Erik Gonzalez-Gonzalez, Xander D’Arcy, Tucker Engelke, Landen Stowe, Isaac Chery
• 8/10 I like this theme, however, once again we see one member not matching with the rest of the team. The tie-dye was a good substitution, but I still had to dock some points.

Team Aaditya

• Aaditya Vulava, Tommy Sasser, Chase Novak, Blake Boyd, Elliot Romero, Charlie Cramer, Jason Gould, Jacob Crosby
• 5/10. Farmers? Flannels? I’m not really sure what the theme was supposed to be here, but at least everyone looks happy to be there!

Team Nicholas Edwards

• Kabir Zaman, John McQueen, Grace Gast, Troy Rauchut, Jacob Olinger, Jay Mirman, Caroline Spann
• For some reason, this is the only photo we have of Team Nicholas Edwards, but I do not see a theme here. I still give this team 4/10 points for their ready stances and the fact that they entered the tournament last minute, so probably did not have time for a theme.

The tournament took place on November 8th during lunch in the gym. The games were 5 minutes each.

Round 1

Team John McQueen vs. Team Nicholas Edwards

Winner=Team John McQueen

This was an interesting matchup seeing as Nicholas Edwards was not a member of Team Nicholas Edwards and was instead a part of Team John McQueen. The same goes for John who was not in fact on Team John McQueen. Hmm…these teams seemed to be playing some mind games on us but as for the physical game, Team John McQueen came out on top in this matchup.

Round 2

Team Ferda vs. The Imaginary Numbers

Winner=Team Ferda

Both teams locked in for this intense battle but Team Ferda pulled out the win. Maybe it was their super cool sunglasses, or maybe it was the compression sleeves that helped them pull out the win. Who knows…

Round 3

CASHBACS vs. Delta

Winner=CASHBACS

This matchup was a lighthearted one as both teams were seen smiling the whole time. This was a pretty even match, however, CASHBACS kicked it into high gear and defeated Delta advancing to the next round.

Round 4

Los Monitos vs. Team Aaditya

Winner=Los Monitos

What a battle! This game was full of comebacks and very intense, to say the least. It had all the fans cheering and locked into the game. Los Motios barely pulled out the win on this one.

Round 5

Team John McQueen vs. Team Ferda

Winner=Team John McQueen

After some hard-fought battles, Team John McQueen came out on top winning against Team Ferda. After the time ran out and both teams still had players in the match, the referees settled the tie in a tense game of Rock Paper Scissors, where Nicholas Edwards beat out Lucas Browder for the win.

Round 6

CASHBACS vs. Team Aaditya

Winner=Team Aaditya

The match between CASHBACS and Team Aaditya was nothing short of exciting. Both teams brought their A-game and left it all on the court. In the end, Los Monitos came out on top and knocked the CASHBACS out of the competition. 

Round 7 Final Championship

Team John McQueen vs. Team Aaditya

An intense fight to say the least. After their 5-minute battle, Team John McQueen reigned supreme and defeated Team Aaditya, winning the whole tournament. Congrats Team John McQueen! 

Overall, RaptorBall is a fun break from the intense workload here at Magnet and a fun way to connect with your classmates. Shoutout to Suzanna for bringing this tradition from her middle school days. The RaptorBall tournament proved to be an unforgettable event that brought together competitors, cheerleaders, and other grades. We hope the legacy of RaptorBall continues to inspire future generations to embrace the game and the bonds created on the dodgeball court.