Year after year, all four grades at Hillsborough High School come together in the gym to show their school spirit for one spectacular, unforgettable night. Spirit Night comes once a year, on the first Friday in May. Last week, the freshmen teamed up with the juniors and the sophomores joined forces with the seniors to conquer everyone’s favorite night of the year.

Spirit Night 2016 saw some of the best themes and rivalries to date. For this year, the freshmen called themselves “Freshman Force,” the sophomores picked “Sophomore Storytime,” the juniors chose “Junior Justice,” and the seniors were “Senior Sightseers.” Friday night’s biggest rivalries were between the seniors and the juniors, the juniors and the sophomores, and the sophomores and the freshmen. After all the relay races, dances, chants, and lots and lots of cheering, the seniors narrowly won the night with a score of 22,750 points, beating the juniors, whose score of 21,150 points earned them second place. The freshmen were actually able to come in third place with 12,150 points and pushed the sophomores into dead last with only 10,650 points.

The night started out with a few different relay races before getting into the dances. For all of the relays, 1,000 points are awarded to the grade that comes in first place, then 750 points go to whichever grade comes in second, followed by 500 points for third place, and 250 points for last place. The seniors dominated the night with the most wins. They got first place for the Balloon Pop, Tic-Tac-Toe, the Scooter Relay, and the Obstacle Course. The juniors were next in wins with their victories for the 3 Legged Race, the Hula Hoop Relay, and the Chant.

While the sophomores managed to snag second place for the Hula Hoop Race and the Scooter Relay, they only ended up winning the Tug of War. The freshmen did an excellent job for their first Spirit Night. Although they did not win any of the events, they did end up beating the sophomores for third place in many of them, and showed just as much excitement and spirit as the upperclassmen.

One of the most exciting events of the night was the Garbage Can Relay Race. Since it’s towards the end of the night, the race generates the most excitement. Juniors once again took first place, closely followed by the seniors in second. The classes of 2018 and 2019 actually tied for third because of an issue with their garbage cans.

All year long, the incredibly talented choreographers in each grade take their time to create a fantastic dance that coincides with their theme and can really “wow” the judges. The class of 2016 is known for amazing dances and formations that stun the crowd. This year was no exception. With music that celebrated different cultures from around the world and the idea of travel, the seniors came together for another amazing performance, earning them first place. The juniors were able to bump themselves up to second place after two years in a row of either being disqualified and coming in third. Their dance combined classic theme songs from old superhero TV shows, such as Batman and Spider-Man from the 1960s and Wonder Woman from the 1970s, with other odes to superheroes and justice. The freshmen once again beat the sophomores, coming in third place for their performance with songs dedicated to the armed forces. For a first year team, the freshmen dance was very well prepared and rehearsed. The sophomores ended up coming in last for the dance. Most, if not all of the songs used for their dance came from classic and modern Disney movies. Even though most parts of their dance were well-organized and well-choreographed, they were no match for the freshmen.

Senior Gifty Adombire was able to experience Spirit Night from a different point of view. All year long, Adombire has been the Board of Education Representative for HHS. Since she’s a member of the school’s Class Cabinet, Adombire and her fellow officers spent Spirit Night on the gym floor, presenting the events and all the winners.

“Being on the floor the whole night gave me the chance to really get a feel for the crowd,” Adombire said. “I loved every minute of it and I’m so happy I got to share it with some pretty amazing people.”

Unfortunately for the class of 2016, this past Spirit Night was everyone’s last hoorah. For the last two years, they have been back-to-back Spirit Night champions. But now, it’s time to make room for the new seniors and for the new freshmen who have no idea what they’re getting themselves into.