The Senior “Citizens” emerged victorious from last Friday’s annual Bacon Bat competition, defeating the Freshman “Nerds”, the “Friday the 13th” Sophomores, and the “Jackson” Juniors. The senior class almost always wins the annual class competition, and the juniors usually come in 2nd, as they did this year. The final two places are typically up for grabs between the freshmen and the sophomores, who finished 3rd and 4th, respectively.

The seniors came in first place in class spirit, dodge ball, kickball, the quiz bowl, the song competition, and the obstacle course; the juniors won the handball game and the relay race, and the freshman won both the cake decorating and the old song/classic columns competition.

The palpable excitement of the day-long event was not in any way hampered by the continuous rain, which forced all activities to be moved inside. However, tug-of-war — a favorite Bacon Bat event — was unfortunately canceled due to safety concerns.

The theme each class decides on is arguably the most creative and entertaining part of Bacon Bat. Although choosing a theme can be a divisive enterprise among some classes, the seniors had already agreed on “Senior Citizens” last spring.

While the main goal — and sometimes challenge — of Bacon Bat is for students to cooperate and bond with their classmates, a healthy dose of competition between grades is expected. This year, the junior-senior handball game in particular got quite rowdy, and at least one player walked away with a black eye. To the seniors’ great chagrin, the juniors won by several points.

Just before the senior class paraded (and hobbled) from the lounge to the gym on Friday morning, Dr. Brown addressed the crowd of 40 gray-haired, glasses-wearing girls standing before him in floral nightgowns. After praising the usual cooperation and class spirit that Bacon Bat inspires and noting poignantly that this was the girls’ last Bacon Bat, he reminded the class of 2011 that winning that day was their “birth right.” The seniors needed no more encouraging as they stormed into the hallways, singing the chorus of “Forever Young.”