The Purple Team brought in not one, but two triumphs last Friday, June 2, winning this year’s Color Wars and the first annual “Clevenger Cup.”
In a landslide victory, the purple team soared above their nine color competitors, amassing a total of 275 points in activities such as tug-of war, pie eating, and the video game challenge. This feat placed them 86 points ahead of the second-place winners, the White Team, which achieved 189 points. Not far behind was the Black Team, who placed third with 180 points.
Among the few able to celebrate the Purple Team’s win was first-year Communications High School history teacher Courtney Conroy, the team’s advisor.
“It was really exciting and it was also really nerve-racking,” Conroy said. “But I had the best group of seniors to guide me through the process so it was a lot of fun.”
One of those seniors was Michael Tarigo of Sea Girt, who Conroy described as “an amazing pie-eater” after he led the team to secure their victory in the final event.
“It was a great experience. I loved working with the underclassmen, meeting new people and I had a lot of fun running a team,” Tarigo said.
“Last year we didn’t really know our seniors and they weren’t really involved so it was cool to be able to step into that role. I’m gonna miss the events and having a fun-filled day.”
This year’s Color Wars was also the last event that was planned by the 2022-2023 SGA council, which council member Marina Berger of Marlboro described as “bittersweet.”
“I loved getting to work with the new members. I am, however, very upset and nostalgic that it was my last SGA event,” Berger said. “I am excited to see what next year’s SGA does and I know for a fact that we are leaving CHS in very good hands.”
Working alongside Berger and the current council was a new SGA member, freshman Shawn Ribeiro of West Long Branch.
“I think that everyone, myself included, had a blast at Color Wars,” Ribeiro said. “It was very exciting to help run the first event as the new SGA council. I’m grateful for the opportunity to work with the rest of the SGA team to make this happen.”
Similarly to Ribeiro, many freshmen, like Black Team member Helena Szep of Middletown, spoke highly of their first Color Wars experience.
“I was definitely most excited about the chant, especially since we spent so much time practicing,” Szep said. “I really enjoyed it and it made me feel so much more involved.”
While the 2023 Color Wars was a first for Ribeiro and Szep, it marked the last for several seniors such as Tarigo and Berger. This time, however, the seniors are not alone in parting with CHS and the multitude of memorable events it hosts.
Virginia “Ginny” Clevenger, the fitness teacher at CHS since its opening in 2000, announced during the chant battle that this year’s Color Wars would be her last, and that she will be retiring at the end of the school year.
Despite Clevenger’s plans to say goodbye to the CHS community, her contributions and relentless dedication to the school will be kept alive through the “Clevenger Cup,” a new trophy to be awarded to the winners of each Color Wars.
“I bought the Clevenger Cup. I did that months ago,” Clevenger said. “I decided I wanted to leave something for the school, a little memory.”
The cup’s first-ever champions were the Purple Hungry Titans. The “Clevenger Cup” is currently on display in the front hallway trophy case, along with the names of the winning team.
Clevenger hopes that the cup tradition is carried on and reminds her students to maintain their “awesome” attitudes, on and off Color Wars grounds.
“Keep being awesome and never change. Be kind, be polite, be a Beast,” Clevenger said.
