The Jackpot Juniors have won the 2024 PMHS Olympics. It should be noted that this is not the first time a class other than the seniors have won it, as it had happened back in 2017 one other time. According to some staff members who were around at the time, the win from the juniors caused some backlash from parents. “I thought we had no chance of winning after everything I had heard from all the teachers and other members of staff,” said Junior Jonathan Mullan. Although some people did have that sense of belief, spirits were high for the juniors prior to the start of the Olympics. “I never had any doubt. I heard about all the parents getting mad after the last junior class won over the seniors, but I don’t see that playing a role in whether we win or not. At the end of the day it’s really just as simple as winning the events,” stated Junior Lucas D’Angelo. Although spirits were high for the juniors, the momentum quickly shifted as the first few events, such as Dodgeball and Big Bat both went to the seniors. Throughout the day, the seniors gave a valiant effort winning in events such as Volleyball, Doubles Four Square, and Handball. However, many wins from the juniors went unnoticed. Events such as Cage Ball and Connect Four all went to the juniors. Additionally, the juniors pushed the seniors to overtime in boys hockey. Nonetheless, the Juniors pulled out a win in Boys’ Basketball, which was an unprecedented occurrence prior to the Olympics. Similar to the hockey match, the senior squad included a large bulk of the varsity lineup. The juniors rallied to a win through Junior George Negrin. After the match, he was asked whether or not he had confidence that he would pull off an upset and he answered, “I certainly had confidence that we would win. But I can’t say the same for the whole team.” A big part of the Olympics was the Silly Walk, which required a lot of practice and unity from the entire grade. Although all grades put in a lot of effort for the Silly Walk, the Juniors were able to secure the victory. However, the Juniors’ Silly Walk had a live performance from the Mellow Fellows, something that made them stand out from the other grades and arguably gave them the win. Julian, the pianist of the Mellow Fellows, stated “Like most of our gigs, business comes right to our doorsteps. Mr. V.B. and members of S.A. suggested that we, in the first demonstration of live music in PMHS Olympics history, employ our musical training and versatility in the first ever demonstration of live music at the Silly Walk,” when asked why the group decided to perform live.
Near the end, nerves were high for everyone as junior class president Joe Martucci stated, “I was very nervous we wouldn’t win, because I was proud of everyone. I thought we deserved it and the school was going to take it away from us.” Despite this, the juniors did end up winning and taking the spot as a Pelham Memorial High School Olympics champion before their senior season. When asked about the loss, Senior class member and school president Erik Fontanella stated “I felt like we just didn’t care enough about the smaller events. I remember hearing when the staff announced the results for some of the games, and that we weren’t there for a few of them and just forfeited some points.”
Despite the loss from the seniors, it was still a valiant effort. Nonetheless, it was a nice surprise for the juniors, despite the odds being stacked against them, they still did something that not many saw coming and for the first time in over half a decade that had the “Jackpot” Juniors winning the Olympics.