Pink team members left school victorious Friday as the winners of the 12th annual Color Wars. The day’s schedule was shifted in the morning due to poor weather conditions, but all events were completed as planned, SGA President Lauryn Masciana of Middletown said.

Principal James Gleason made the decision earlier in the week to hold the event as scheduled, rain or shine. While it was raining in the morning, conditions cleared up as the day progressed.

Team chants, the first event of the day, were held inside instead of outside, as they were originally scheduled to be, followed by teacher musical chairs. The tug-of-war, which is traditionally held before lunch, was postponed to the end of the day due to weather conditions.

Freshman Nora Thompson of Middletown said she thought the team chants were unique but relatively unimpressive.

“Some were interesting, some were kind of clever,” Thompson said.

Senior Jon Zimmerman of Ocean said he felt that one teacher in particular stood apart from the crowd during musical chairs.

“There’s one lesson you have to take from musical chairs, and that’s that Mrs. Maher is ferocious … no one was getting in her way,” Zimmerman said.

Immediately following teacher musical chairs, students reconvened in the cafeteria for a barbecue lunch provided by volunteer PSFA members. The non-athletic events then took place after lunch, preceding the athletic ones.

Non-athletic events that took place simultaneously throughout the afternoon included the Limbo Challenge, Pictionary, Quiz Bowl, Tech Challenge, Art Challenge and Video Game Challenge. The athletic events included volleyball, soccer, kickball, home run derby, 3v3 basketball and ultimate frisbee. The tug-of-war was held after the athletic events, which the red team won in a final match against the orange team.

After the athletic competitions, seniors competed in a pie-eating contest. Senior Emily Woods of Middletown won for the dark blue team.

As the day came to a close, the student body gathered in the cafeteria to hear the announcement of the winner of the event. The pink team came in first place with a final score of 234 points, followed by the red team in second place with 232 points and purple team in third place with 231 points, Masciana said.

Sophomore Dan Quinlan of Freehold said Color Wars was a success, but he would like to see a change in one aspect of the day.

“I think Color Wars went great. The way they planned it seemed so organized. The only thing I disagree with was coming in [to school] at the same time we would on a normal school day,” Quinlan said.

As the pink team celebrations died down and the evidence of a confetti cannon, set off by pink team captain and senior Max DeGeorge of Ocean, was swept away, members of all teams left the building with another Color Wars to remember.

EDIT: Photo credits to Meagan McDowell